Nasa's eye view: Extraordinary images of our world released to mark Earth Day

ByPaul Bentley
Last updated at 1:05 AM on 26th April 2011

Soaring hundreds of kilometres above Earth, Nasa's satellites and space ships see the world with unique perspective.

And to mark Earth Day on Friday, the space agency has allowed the public a glimpse into its extraordinary photo album.

9/11: This image of smoke billowing fromManhattan is one of a series taken that day by the International SpaceStation's Expedition 3 crew

Katrina: This shot, from a weather satellite,shows the devastating hurricaine hit the U.S. coast at full strength inAugust 2005

The colossal gallery features dozens of shots taken from space - fromimages of the most beautiful natural scenery to man's finest feats ofarchitecture.

There are also pictures capturing nature's powerful wrath at its mostunforgiving - and ones that show the damage man can do when he is athis most destructive.

Among the eye-catching images is one ofsunlight creeping across the surface of the globe, taken from the pointof view of the moon.

The picture was taken on Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, which entered lunar orbit onChristmas Eve, 1968.

Earthrise: This stunning image wastaken on Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, which enteredlunar orbit on Christmas Eve 1968

Currents: Off the east coast of New Zealand,cold rivers of water from the Antarctic converge with warmer watersflowing south past the North Island.

During a live broadcast from the mission, Command Module Pilot JimLovell said: 'The vast loneliness is awe-inspiring and it makes yourealize just what you have back there on Earth.'

The astronauts on board ended thebroadcast with the crew taking turns reading from the book of Genesis

Aurora: These displays of light occurnear the north and south poles when charged particles from the sun interact with Earth's magnetic field

Another of the photographs shows the extraordinary meeting of cold and warm water currents off the coast of New Zealand.

Cold rivers of watercan be seen branching off from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, flowingnorth past the South Island before converging with warmer waters flowingsouth past the North Island.

This image was taken on October 25, 2009, from the MODIS sensor on NASA's Aqua satellite.

Other striking images show dust plumes blowing off the coast of Namibia and the incredible aurora australis, orsouthern lights, caused by charged particles from the sun interacting with Earth's magnetic field.

The Great Wall of China is shown as demonstration of what man canachieve, while dramatic footage of smoke billowing from Manhattan onSeptember 11 2001 shows the senseless damage people are capable of.

The picture of the 9/11 terror attacks were taken by the International Space Station's Expedition 3 crew.

CommanderFrank L. Culbertson said: 'It's horrible to see smoke pouring fromwounds in your own country from such a fantastic vantage point. Thedichotomy of being on a spacecraft dedicated to improving life on theearth and watching life being destroyed by such willful, terrible actsis jolting to the psyche, no matter who you are.'

The startling images have been released by Nasa to mark Earth Day on Friday. 

EarthDay was founded in the U.S in 1970 but is now celebrated in over 175countries worldwide in celebration of the world’s natural environment- but also to raise awareness about how modern practices may be damagingit.

Earlier this month, the space agency uploaded thousands ofspace snaps onto the internet, including shots of previously unseengalaxies, stars and asteroids.

The collection – available to anyone with a connection to the web - was taken by Nasa’s super hi-tech sky-mapping telescope.

Ittook a staggering two and a half million pictures of the universe,which include 33,000 new asteroids found floating between Mars andJupiter – and 20 comets.

Ozone hole: The Antarctic ozone hole reached its annual maximum on Sept. 12, 2008, stretching over 27 million square kilometers

Namibia's Coast: Cloudless skies last summer allowed a clear view of dust plumes blowing off the coast towards the ocean

Susitna: Thermal technology creates this striking image of the Alaskan glacier. The red signifies vegetation