NASA partnered up with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Air Force to study the Earth and maintain the United States' real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities.
What we got was so much more.
Their DSCOVR satellite, which is one million miles away balanced between the gravity of the Earth and the sun, was able to see so many incredible things in one short year.
It spotted a solar eclipse and a lunar transit as well as a number of significant weather events. You can also notice the Earth's tilt on its axis as the North Pole comes into view during the northern hemisphere's summer months and the South Pole is more easily seen during the northern hemisphere's winter months.
NASA's EPIC camera snapped new pictures every two hours, and with a year's worth of images, it turns into a great time-lapse.
Even though the Earth is a million miles away, and the time-lapse appears to move quickly, scientists are able to track things like weather systems, vegetation properties and ultraviolet reflectivity.
Follow Storm Shield Meteorologist Jason Meyersvia the Storm Shield appon Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Download the Storm Shield Weather Radio App for your iPhone or Android device and get severe weather alerts wherever you are. Named by Time.com one of the best weather apps for your iPhone.
