A satellite image shows the Earth as a “water planet”

Satellite images of the Earth are always amazing and very useful for various investigations. From environmental pollution, deforestation and even aviation services use it. (You may be interested in: Birds found in Colombia contain high levels of mercury)

It’s a basic input that gets better over time, thanks to satellite technology in our planet’s orbit. For example, they have been used to locate and apprehend criminals, since some of them are so precise and accurate that they allow people to be identified.

When it comes to images of Earth, showing continental shelves surrounded by sea, they are usually sent from the International Space Station, like the one shown below.

However, it is possible to obtain an image of the Earth in which only the ocean is visible, as if it were a “water planet.” Although a planet of this type has never been found (its coverage is entirely oceanic), one planet that could come close is Uranus, which is mostly water with some rocky areas. (You can also read: Radiation in space can cause erectile dysfunction in astronauts)

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On Earth, to get that image, the satellite would have to be located at a point between America, Antarctica, Asia, Oceania and Africa. There, in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, due to its distance from the coasts, there is the furthest point from any land surface on our planet known as the Pacific Inaccessible Pole or Point Nemo. The nearest coast is about 2,700 kilometers away.

For this reason, it is easy for the Earth to appear completely covered in water when viewed from a satellite, as there is no nearby land surface visible. However, it is not as unusual as there seems to be a point where there is nothing but water: 70% of our planet’s surface is essentially oceans.

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