About 423 miles up from the surface of the planet earth is the unique satellite GeoEye-1.  It’s a commercial satellite, designed mainly for Google purposes, but it also has a pretty stellar camera attached to it.  PopSci reports that it is capable of zooming in on objects 16 inches wide, but sometimes when you’re that far up, a sweeping view is best.  The above image, for example, is of President Obama’s inaugural ceremony as viewed from space.

Striking, isn’t it?  That’s the awesome power of 1.5 million people crowded together to hear a 20-minute speech surrounded by $150 million American dollars worth of pomp and circumstance.  There were 10 inaugural balls last night, and I think I saw news reporters stationed at all of them.

That’s a whole lot of partying, but with good reason.  Not because we have a new President (that seems to happen every 4-8 years, give or take), but because that means we’re free of political ads for awhile!  Finally commercials will go back to trying to sell me cars and food, rather than ideologies or fear.  Still, the peaceful passing of power between polar opposites is always kind of a small miracle.

Tags: inauguration pictures, inauguration from space, GeoEye 1, satellite pictures, obama inauguration, unusual images, google satellite, satellite images

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