NASA camera captures stunning Earth image

(NASA)

A NASA camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory has captured its first view of the entire sunlit side of Earth from one million miles away.

The image, which shows North and Central America, was taken July 6, 2015 by NASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a four megapixel CCD camera and telescope. “The image was generated by combining three separate images to create a photographic-quality image,” explained NASA, in a statement.

The agency noted that the central turquoise areas in the image are shallow seas around the Caribbean islands. “This Earth image shows the effects of sunlight scattered by air molecules, giving the image a characteristic bluish tint,” it added.