Earth as Art

The Diary was on a fleeting visit to Brussels yesterday and your editor was intrigued by this display of images from the Landsat 7 satellite, which are on view outside the HQ of the European Commission as an 'Earth as Art' exhibition.



The images are held in the Geography and Map Division of the US Geological Survey and have been selected for aesthetic rather than scientific value. They are actual pictures of the Earth, created by printing visible and infrared data in colors visible to the human eye. Band combinations and colors were chosen to optimize their dramatic appearance.

The exhibition was formerly on view at the US Library of Congress.



I was particularly struck by the symbolism of the composite view showing the Earth at night, clearly showing the amount of artificial light used in the developed economies of the planet.

Brian Byrne.