Earth - a year through photos

Within a year, the snow fell south and then narrowed to the north. The whole continent froze and then thawed. In spring, the green carpet of plants spread out in many ways. It becomes brilliant, most vivid during the summer, fades in the fall and disappears when winter comes.

One of the most famous photographs ever taken by an Apollo 17 astronaut in 1972, while on his way to the moon. Dubbed Blue Marble , the image shows southern Africa and Antarctica underneath swirling white clouds, contrasting with the background of the blue sea.

Since then, every few years, NASA has published new photos of the entire earth, naming the Blue Barble after the first photo. The latest series is called Blue Marble: Next Generation , showing that a cloudy earth changes over 4 seasons.

Fall: Countries like Indonesia and Thailand in Southeast Asia are still wet and green thanks to the last summer winds. In northern Asia, temperatures drop and snow clouds are forming, preparing for the south journey in winter. The green vegetation of the northeastern United States and western Canana gradually changes to reddish brown as the leaves in this region change color, die and fall off the branches.

Winter: Most of the Northern Hemisphere is covered with snow and ice. Exceptions are the east coast of the United States and parts of western Europe, especially Scotland and England. A warm strip of water called the Gulf Stream along the coast of these regions shielded them from the full power of the cold winter. In Africa, heavy clouds have moved south and the last tip of the continent is the greenest, green all year round. In the summer, these clouds will return to the north, bringing gifts as rain.

Spring: The boundary of snow and ice in North America and Asia begins to be pushed back north. A pale green carpet formed in the southeastern United States, in the summer, it will spread to the entire continent. Heavy clouds in South America drifted from west to east, making the eastern parts of the continent clearly visible.

Summer: A snow curtain covering most of Asia in winter has moved, shrunk in the sun, becoming a small white rim near the North Pole. Even Alaska cannot resist the heat of summer. Rain clouds have returned to North Africa and the center of the continent is ever greener than ever. The world's largest deserts - the Sahara in Africa, the Gobi in Asia and most of Australia - change very little in season and they look exactly the same in winter as in summer.

These photos are collected from thousands of photos taken by NASA's MODIS satellite.

T. An ( according to LiveScience )