adapted from NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio animation

EARTH'S 12-MONTH "HEARTBEAT"
(animation may take a few moments to load)

Though most of us are familiar with how much Earth's appearance from space can vary due to atmospheric conditions, we often tend to forget that throughout the year Earth's "surface" itself likewise goes though considerable transformation.  The truth is—Earth's "surface appearance" is far more dynamic than we sometimes imagine!

The video above, adapted from a NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio animation, shows a typical year's month by month progression of the snow and ice that seasonally cover our planet's surface.  As we watch, we can readily perceive our planet's annual cycle of the seasons, and it is easy to imagine this as the great "heartbeat" of Earth.  Incidentally the accelerated rate, at which the animation shows our "planetary pulse", is roughly equal to the actual heart rate of a blue whale, the largest animal known to have ever inhabited Earth!

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