1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,770 2 00:00:00,770 --> 00:00:04,810 I'm Jay Herman. I'm the EPIC Lead Scientist for the DSCOVR mission. 3 00:00:04,810 --> 00:00:05,000 4 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:13,160 On July 6, 2015, we released this spectacular image of Earth taken by NASA's EPIC camera. 5 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:14,010 6 00:00:14,010 --> 00:00:19,800 Now, we assembled more than 3,000 images captured by EPIC into a time-lapse sequence 7 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:22,630 that shows a year in the life of our planet. 8 00:00:22,630 --> 00:00:26,190 9 00:00:26,190 --> 00:00:32,500 EPIC is an Earth science instrument aboard the DSCOVR satellite, which launched in February 2015. 10 00:00:32,500 --> 00:00:33,990 11 00:00:33,990 --> 00:00:37,200 The spacecraft always remains between the sun and the Earth 12 00:00:37,200 --> 00:00:37,420 13 00:00:37,420 --> 00:00:44,100 approximately 1 million miles away, at a special gravitational balance point known as Lagrange 1. 14 00:00:44,100 --> 00:00:44,900 15 00:00:44,900 --> 00:00:50,660 From this view, EPIC sees the sunrise in the west and the sunset in the east 16 00:00:50,660 --> 00:00:50,700 17 00:00:50,700 --> 00:00:52,200 at least 13 times a day. 18 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:54,780 19 00:00:54,780 --> 00:01:00,660 The haze seen around the edges is due to scattering of light by molecules in the atmosphere. 20 00:01:00,660 --> 00:01:00,800 21 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:06,850 Scattering is also what makes the sky appear blue during the day and red at sunset. 22 00:01:06,850 --> 00:01:08,750 23 00:01:08,750 --> 00:01:15,990 The colors shown are our best estimate of what a human sitting at the location of EPIC would see. 24 00:01:15,990 --> 00:01:16,000 25 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,770 EPIC takes at least one set of images about every two hours. 26 00:01:20,770 --> 00:01:20,850 27 00:01:20,850 --> 00:01:25,130 The camera records each set in 10 different wavelengths. 28 00:01:25,130 --> 00:01:25,200 29 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:31,800 At least three separate wavelengths--red, green, and blue--are combined to produce this color view. 30 00:01:31,800 --> 00:01:34,550 31 00:01:34,550 --> 00:01:39,920 In March, the moon passed between the Earth and the sun causing a total solar eclipse. 32 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:40,500 33 00:01:40,500 --> 00:01:45,500 During the eclipse, the moon cast its shadow over a portion of the planet. 34 00:01:45,500 --> 00:01:46,000 35 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:52,240 If we slow the video down, we can see the moon's shadow make an appearance right about now. 36 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:55,250 37 00:01:55,250 --> 00:02:02,430 Although the view from EPIC is only once every two hours, we're able to track features like the motion of clouds. 38 00:02:02,430 --> 00:02:02,500 39 00:02:02,500 --> 00:02:05,600 Around two-thirds of the Earth is covered by clouds. 40 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:05,850 41 00:02:05,850 --> 00:02:09,860 Clouds reflect light from the sun, helping to keep the planet cool. 42 00:02:09,860 --> 00:02:10,000 43 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:14,710 They also trap heat rising from the surface, keeping the planet warm. 44 00:02:14,710 --> 00:02:15,000 45 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:22,770 Changes in cloud cover affect the heat balance and how warm the Earth becomes, which is one of the reasons why we study them. 46 00:02:22,770 --> 00:02:24,000 47 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:28,400 The hourly images of the entire sunlit side of the Earth provided by EPIC 48 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:28,500 49 00:02:28,500 --> 00:02:33,100 will be used to study the daily variations of features over the entire globe 50 00:02:33,100 --> 00:02:33,200 51 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:37,760 helping us to better understand and protect our home planet. 52 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:46,900