One of the ways I passed time and I got my travel fix during quarantine was exploring YouTube channels and even creating my own (please subscribe here). I found the most amazing travel stuff, including bears plucking salmon out of a river in Alaska, live webcams from around the world with just 15 seconds on each destination, New York City webcams, or my favorite, the Sydney Harbor Cam.
Well, after switching on the tube late last night to see the webcams from around the world, I clicked on Space Live: ISS live feed from Nasa. I’ve seen it before while passing through but this time I switched it on and really watched it for a good 15 minutes. It’s mesmerizing, from the relaxing spa-like music to the four pictures on the screen, which you can see above. The larger one is the International Space Station’s (ISS) live earth view happening right now from space with its current location (state/province and country) or the name of the body of water.
That’s right, the International Space Station, which is 240 miles (386 km) above the planet in a low earth orbit.
The dashboard on the right has the flight path of the ISS. Just below that is either Camera 2 or Camera 1 (depending on time of day) from the Space Station and the bottom is a map showing a close-up view of where the station is currently.
It’s truly jaw-dropping that we have this capability and it gave me such a sense of wonder before I started traveling the world. My first trip out of the country was when I was 22 and prior to that, I was always amazed by travel, either through movies like Crocodile Dundee or commercials like the Australian Tourism Commission Paul Hogan commercial.
So it was no surprise that when I turned on this channel, I waited until the ISS cruised over Australia. It really brought me back to the 80s so I had to drop everything, take some screenshots and create this post. I hope you like it as much as I do.
FYI: According to the channel, “It takes 90 minutes for the ISS to complete one orbit around the earth. During that time it passes into the dark side of the earth for 1/2 the time. Regularly, the ISS will stop transmitting due to a connection loss but will come back up automatically once it establishes the connection again. The picture will switch to archived video when the connection is lost or the space station enters into night.”
I still can’t believe that the Space Station was over Western Australia and then 40 minutes later it was over the Western United States. It’s insane to comprehend, isn’t it?
It’s cool to watch the ISS fly over from the ground too. Most of the time, it just looks like a fast, high flying aircraft. But sometimes, if the time and sun is right, it’s really bright. You can sign up to get notifications when it’s flying over your location here: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov/
Thanks Johnny. Glad to see you are getting back to normal and making some money again.?? This website looks like it would be a great “screen saver”, and would be kind of like having something calming to watch, kind of like Leo Laporte’s spinning globe. Stay well, all the best to your family, and happy and safe travels. Larry Moran, Waterbury, CT., U.S..A.
My goodness, what an incredible tip, thank you! You are right, this space station feed is awesome, I am transfixed.