The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) says this, “‘Blue Marble’ image of the Earth” was “taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA’s most recently launched Earth-observing satellite – Suomi NPP. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth’s surface taken on January 4, 2012″and released January 25, 2012.
Related articles
- Second ‘Blue Marble’ NASA sat pic apes Apollo 17’s stunner – Register (theregister.co.uk)
- A new ‘Blue Marble’ (taholtorf.wordpress.com)
- VIIRS eastern hemisphere image: Behind the scenes (physorg.com)
Nullius in Verba 
Awe inspiring and beautiful. Thanks for sharing it.
K