These unusual looking planets are all actually different views of our own planet. Generally we get the view with the US (West) in the upper left and Asia (East) in the upper right. I think that’s how most people in the United States generally envision the world. But that’s just an arbitrary viewpoint albeit aligned with the axis of rotation. To really get familiar with your planet you have to explore it from every angle. Google Earth is a great tool for doing that. You can explore the entire planet including the oceans as well as the solar system, the galaxy, and even distant galaxies and nebulae. What a wonderful age. What a wonderful world.

Right here, right now
There’s no other place I’d rather be
Right here, right now
Watching the world wake up from history
— Jesus Jones

 

 

Above: We truly do live on a water world. From this view the earth looks like it’s almost entirely covered with water. You can see Baja California Mexico at 2′oclock and the South Pacific on the left. It’s hard to believe that we can deplete fish populations, but there’s a lot of hungry mouths of the other side of the world.

 

 

Above: This strange looking planet is actually a view looking straight down at the north pole. Canada is at the bottom, Asia at the top. It’s amazing how green it is up there considering how cold it is. You can clearly see part of the ring of fire - the dark curves along the left of Asia and Alaska.

 

 

Above: This is just what it looks like, two continents that have been torn apart from one another. See how South America Fits perfectly into Africa? They were once connected many eons ago. If you look closely you can see the zipper running up the middle between them.

 

 

Above: If you’re lost in space you might not recognize this as home from this angle. Here the North Pole and Greeland are at the bottom, and Africa is at the top left. Here you can see how Northern Africa would fit into Central America. Here too you can see the scars of 1,00o volcanoes that run between them pushing them apart.

 

 

Above: Another upside down view. This time Africa is to the left and South America to the right with Antarctica at the top. It looks like such a peaceful planet from this perspective. But again, if you look closely, you can see the scar that runs right down the middle of the South Atalantic where all three of these continents used to meet a long, long, long time ago.

 

 

Above: Another odd looking water world with a cold, seemingly lifeless continent on one half and one full of life and landscapes on the other. See how Antarctica and South America share a sort of umbilical cord. That’s treacherous waters and nasty climate going through there. But doesn’t all that clear South Pacific water look nice?

 

Above: Australia looks like a fat little Scotti dog with a bob tail and little black nose when viewed upside down. From this perspective you can see the expanse of thousands of miles of islands including Indonesia, Malasia, New Guinea, The Philippeans, and the South Pacific. The magnitude puts the Caribbean Islands to shame. I wish I had a really nice boat and 100 years to explore it all. All the dark lines are faults and volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis in waiting.

 

 

Above: If the Persian Gulf were the center of the world and the world were turned upside down this is what it would look like. China and the Orient to the left, India pointing up, the Middle East over Europe, Africa on the right. This is the heavy side of the planet. This is where it all happened for many millenia. This is where humans evolved, where agriculture was developed, where civilization was invented, where the major religions were launched, where empires rose and fell and countless battles have been faught… Not nearly as much has gone on on the other side of the world except for the past couple hundred years, a mere blink of an eye.

 

 

Above: See how all alone Antarctica is? It’s practically got half the planet all to itself. Actually it just looks that way. It just about touches South America, and Australia, and Much of Africa and most of South America are in the southern hemisphere with Antarctica, they are just hard to see on edge. Still, it’s lonely and cold way down under. But I bet the night sky is gorgeous.

 

 

Above:  Most people don’t realize how large Antarctica really is. It’s about a third bigger than Australia (top). Antarctica is where all the hubbub went on about the ozone hole. That was a problem that was identified by science and tackled by public activism and then decisive government action. We urgently need to do the same with carbon emissions, methane production, and other pollutants.

 

 

Above: North America is well protected by Oceans on all sides. In this view Mexico and Central America are over the USA and Canada is in the center. You can see all of the north coast of Asia and Europe along the bottom, and the north of Africa to the left. This view doesn’t show any polar ice cap. This is what the north pole will look like if we can’t tackle global warming. It’s also the direction all the ballistic missiles would head in a nuclear attack - right over the Arctic Circle. Obviously. We can never let either of those things happen.

We head in the direction we are focused. We certainly cannot go any place we are not focused. Please take a moment when you shower each day to reflect on the blessings we have and visualize a bright future for our planet. Be conscious of the resources you consume, insist on clean fuels now, and promote cooperation by working with others to improve our only home - the living planet we call Earth.