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THE EUROPEAN SPACE Agency may never have had the glamour of the Apollo missions or space shuttle launches – but they’ve quietly launched some of the most advanced Earth observation satellites around.
The ESA’s Envistat satellite was the largest Earth observation satellite ever built.
Since 2002, it has circled the Earth, collecting invaluable information on our environment and the advancing danger of climate change.
Contact with Envistat was suddenly lost in April 2012, but the wealth of information it collected remains.
Every week, the European Space Agency releases a new satellite image taken by Envistat and other Earth-observation satellites launched by ESA and other space agencies.
They show incredible places on Earth, from the Sahara Desert to volcanoes in the Congo, in ways we’ve never seen before.
Clouds sweep across the North Sea in this image from Envistat. Denmark is on the lower right corner and Norway is in the upper centre.
European Space Agency
This is the Amazon River in the heart of northern Brazil's rainforest. Vegetation has been colored with shades of pink — the darker the color, the denser the vegetation.
European Space Agency
This photo of Northern China shows the Yellow River flowing into the Yellow Sea. Beijing and Tanjing are shaded circles in the top-centre part of the photo.
European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The Okavango River runs from Angola to Botswana. Here it marks the border between Namibia and Angola.
European Space Agency
This is the Okavango River Delta in Botswana. The purple mass in the center is Chief's Island.
European Space Agency
This is a central plateau in Anatolia, Turkey. Turkey's second-largest lake, Lake Tuz, is on the right. During the summer, the lake water recedes to reveal a thick layer of salt.
European Space Agency
This is Western Australia's Kimberley Region. On the lower left are the Rowley Shoals coral reefs and on the upper-right is Lake Argyle, Australia's largest artificial lake.
European Space Agency
These are the Virunga Mountains in Rwanda, a dangerous chain of active volcanoes.
European Space Agency
This is the Panama Canal. The colored dots in the center of the image, at the top and bottom, are boats entering and leaving.
European Space Agency
These are the ice sheets of Greenland, the largest island in the world. The white dots at the bottom of the image are icebergs.
European Space Agency
This image of the Arctic Circle was taken by Envistat a month before the ESA lost contact. The Novaya Zemlya archipelago is on the left and mainland Russia is on the right.
European Space Agency
This is the rolling farmland of southeastern Washington state. The swirling patterns are created by ploughs.
European Space Agency
These are the dunes of the Namib Desert, taken by Korea's Kompstat-2 satellite. The blue and white area is the dried riverbed of the Tsauchab river.
European Space Agency
The Clearwater Lakes in Quebec are not actually two separate lakes, but a single body of water over two depressions, created by meteorite impacts over 200 million years ago.
European Space Agency
Finally, a rare view of Ireland without any clouds. Surely one of the most unusual sights in the galaxy...
European Space Agency
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A Kerry Priest Fr. Malachi Martin was involved in deciphering them.
@Paddy Flynn: It says “don’t repeal the 8th”
@George O Neill: After the Bible was put together, many works that the Bible left out were destroyed and lost from the old and new testaments. The problem was some were written to counteract Christianity, not all works were for Christ but also to destroy the spread of Christianity. Many works create Christian based religions that the Catholic church went around and slaughtered them for.
I would love to know if the Vatican library have any of these books that don’t exist anyewhere else as they have translaters who translate books between 3 sects the Jusuits, trappists and the Franciscans in 3 seperate parts, so no one knows what the book is about.
Each Apostle wrote a gospel but where are they?
Stressed spells backwards Desserts.
@Stephen Maher: Sesrtesd slepls bwckarads Dresests, some are easier to read than others while others can surprise you?
Why is it considered erotic to use a feather, but kinky to use the whole chicken?
They might say “now if you believe all the junk in the last set of scrolls the you’ll believe anything”
The removal of cultural artefacts or destruction of historical or cultural sites in occupied land contravenes the Geneva Conventions. Anything derived from these sites is the property of the nation of Palestine. Those involved in this are criminals subject to international law and should end up in the Hague
There is no nation of Palestine, never has been.
‘The fellaheen (peasantry) [of Palestine] are none but those ancient Jews who were forced to convert to the religion of Arab Beduin [or the “pure Arabs” as he prefers to call them], who had conquered the land in the seventh century,” writes Ben-Gurion in his intriguing essay on The Origins of the Fellaheen. Interestingly enough, and to defend his not-so-eccentric theory, the same Ben-Gurion would go on defending Islam on strictly theological terms. For it is thanks to the relative tolerance of Islam, affirms Ben-Gurion, that those Hebrew fellaheen were eventually tempted into conversion. After countering previous claims that the fellaheen were the descendants of the ancient Canaanites (or the Romans, or the Greeks), Ben-Gurion comes to the following conclusion: The fellaheen, being the descendants of the ancient Hebrew people, were the true natives of the land, and thus represented an ideal nativist model for Jewish newcomers in Palestine. In other words, the younger Ben-Gurion was interested in a form of reverse assimilation: to become a true Jew is to become a true Palestinian’. Even the first prime minister of Israel admits that ZIionism is a racist lie. However that does not refute my basic point. These artefacts were taken from occupied land. They belong to the native people, the Palestinians. To remove them from Palestinian land and use them as propagandist fodder for the colonial Zionist regime is a crime under international law. Now do one, sunshine and I’ll see you in the Hague!
I suppose the Poles better not dig up anything in what as German territory until 1945, , similarly the Russians in formally Finish or Japanese territory and countless other people dig /build on what as once territory occupied by someone else. Interestingly I don’t see you growing about many eastern Europeans who now occupy formally Jewish property all we hear about today is Jews building on territory which was formally “owned” by the Ottoman Turks then Jordan (who like the Germans, Finn’s, Japanese and countless others lost it it battle ) I also certain, had the Jews lost in 48,67, or 73 we wouldn’t be having this discussion as there wouldn’t be any Jews left in the Middle East (there’s is almost none anyway )
@Paul Devlin: Didnt stpo finna fail destroying the worlds largest viking seetlement to build their offices did it?
@George O Neill…you now officially hold the record for the longest comment ever on the Journal! Are you promoting a book or something??
@George O Neill: does sound though that you enjoy Ancient Aliens.
THE BIBLE! Best piece of fiction I’ve ever read
@Adrian: You need to read more books then. Its an incredibly dull work of fiction.
I stand corrected (excellent
It is pants in fairness. The irony is that Bible study in school made me question God. Needs to make a more believable sequel.
@Adrian: Many would disagree with you there…
@Aaron Gibson: Bad teacher, many like Chuck Missler as he makes it interesting?
Is this the Judean peoples front?
Many were destroyed as fire kindling by the mother of the boy who discovered the cave, what a mess…
have your say