NASA has released a high-definition image of the Earth it calls Blue Marble 2012.
A 'Blue Marble' image of the Earth 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. The NPP satellite was renamed 'Suomi NPP' on January 24, 2012 to honor the late Verner E. Suomi of the University of Wisconsin.
The original Blue Marble image was taken in 1972 by astronauts aboard Apollo 17. Until today, it was my desktop image. NASA has made the new image available for download in several sizes. Link to story. Link to image. -via Buzzfeed
(Image Credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring)
America does not always have to be the center of the world.
Anyway I can tell by the pixels this is 'shopped.
Consider this: Earth's diameter is about 6800 miles. Now, consider that Los Angeles to Miami -- both locations visible here -- is about 2000 miles.
The continental US should be less than a third the width of the planet, but here it is shown as more than TWO thirds. The image is badly manipulated.