NASA’s 4K camera captures what the Earth looks like from the International Space Station

Last year, NASA’s cameras on the International Space Station (ISS) got a substantial upgrade, gaining the Red Epic Dragon 6K cameras that offer cinematographic bells and whistles to make footage all the more detailed.

But while the first footage published back on YouTube was the crew galavanting aboard the ISS, floating around and dissolving antacid tablets in floating balls of water, the latest clip uploaded by NASA is truly awe-inspiring. It’s just over a minute of the Earth viewed from space in glorious 4K. Just press the little cog in the bottom-right-hand corner of the video to switch to 4K, assuming your monitor supports it.

The camera technology that captures this is impressive in itself, and is endorsed by Hollywood as well as astronauts: it’s the same technology that recorded The Hobbit trilogy. As NASA’s

Imagery Experts Program project manager explained at the time: “These cameras have large sensors, capable of very high-resolution imaging at high frame rates. It’s like having a high-speed 35mm motion-picture film camera, but it’s compact, it can use lenses we already have up there, and it’s digital.”

Wonderfully, NASA publishes all of its 4K videos on Archive.org under a Public Domain licence, even for commercial use, so should you want some 4K shots to get your idea for a wacky space sitcom off the ground, NASA has you covered.

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