Monday, June 11, 2012

Amazing View of World Air Traffic

Received from a friend, today, 6/11/12/Mon, via email -- concerning our small, busy, magnificent, ever-changing world!  Perspective is a useful thing -- we each may be like "molecules," but what is a world without molecules? The following words are quoted from that message:

This is a 24 hour observation of all of the large aircraft
flights in the world, condensed down to 1:11. From space we look like a bee
hive of activity. What you will see, is a video showing air traffic around
the world for 24 hours, taken from a satellite. [I can remember a time when people thought satellites were a waste of time and money -- DCN]



You won't believe this! The yellow dots are airplanes in the sky
during a 24 hour period.

Stay with the picture. You will see the light of the day moving
from the east to the west, as the Earth spins on its axis. Also you will
see the aircraft flow of traffic leaving the North American continent and
traveling at night to arrive in the UK in the morning. Then you will see
the flow changing, leaving the UK in the morning and flying to the American
continent in daylight.

This is something that everyone should see. For us old-timers it
is really fascinating. For our children/grandchildren it provides a superb
learning moment and an opportunity to open up what could be a very
interesting discussion. This is one of the coolest things I have ever seen.
It surpasses the "World At Night" poster that NatGeo (I think) published
about 20 years ago and my "America At Night" coffee mug. How many people do
YOU think are in the sky at any given moment?

You can tell it was spring time in the north by the sun's foot
print over the planet. You could see that it didn't set for long in the
extreme north and it didn't quite rise in the extreme south. I have never
seen this before. We are taught about the earth's tilt and how it causes
summer and winter and we have had to imagine just what is going on. With
this 24 hour observation of aircraft travel on the earth's surface we get to
see the daylight pattern move as well. Remember watch
the day to night..... Day is over in Australia when it starts.


Tag: "Air Traffic"

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