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
