Ever heard of the “Overview Effect?” Essentially, it’s when astronauts, who are seeing Earth from a great distance, suddenly have a mental clarity — a new understanding on what it means to be alive, and how everything is connected. Benjamin Grant is no astronaut, but he experienced something akin to the Overview Effect when he was looking through satellite images of the world.

New York consultant Benjamin Grant was trying to find satellite imagery of Earth for work, but instead pulled up images of Earth, Texas. Thankfully the tiny town is surrounded by perfect circles created by pivot irrigation systems, which got Grant thinking about the Overview Effect. Grant works with satellite company Digital Globe. He selects an area, puts in an imagery request, and then obtains all images that have been captured over his selected space. We have selected 100 of his best images from his instagram account and shared them below.

1Uniform apartment buildings


2Cape Cod is a hook-shaped peninsula that extends into the Atlantic Ocean off southeastern Massachusetts, USA


3Thousands of automobiles fill a large lot near the Philadelphia Navy Yard in southern Philadelphia, Pennsylvania


4Check out this awesome view of Sydney, Australia


5Massive oil tankers


6Lake Mead


7Aerial view of Bologna, Italy


8Dallas Fort Worth International Airport covers more than 27 square miles (70 sq. km) in Texas — an area larger than the island of Manhattan


9A hot-air balloon floats above Cappadocia


10Cyclone Idai has wreaked havoc on countries in eastern Africa


11Kuta is a village in southern Bali, Indonesia


12Houseboats floating peacefully on the New Bullards Bar Reservoir in Yuba County, California


13A municipality of Mexico City


14Aerial view of the Cliffs of Moher


15An earthwork sculpture


16The Puxi Viaduct in Shanghai, China


17Tel Aviv is the second most populous city in Israel


18Jelsa is a town located on the island of Hvar in Croatia


19The wreck of the SS Maheno can be found on the east coast of Fraser Island in Queensland


20Toronto is the most populous city in Canada


21The destruction caused by four tornadoes that tore through Lee County, Alabama


22The Bayannur Wulanyiligeng wind farm in Inner Mongolia, China


23The Port of Antwerp in Flanders, Belgium


24Memorial park in the state of Victoria, Australia


25The Chilean coast range

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