Clearly wildfire smoke entering Canada

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[–] 72 points 3 months ago (13 children)

Space. Who knew the land actually had lines like that? Guess that's why the states and provinces are shaped the way they are though.

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  • [–] 0 points 3 months ago (7 children)

    The shapes of states are arbitrary. That is an actual photo from space, but the white lines are added to the image after the fact.

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  • [–] 11 points 3 months ago (2 children)
  • [–] 6 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    It’s true. You can tell because the white lines are in front of the clouds.

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  • [–] 15 points 3 months ago

    That’s just because the clouds are lower to the ground.

    You can fly over clouds, so the lines needed to be drawn higher than the clouds so pilots can find their way.

    It’s also why the smoke isn’t covering the line, since the fire is on the ground and the smoke is rising it hasn’t made it as high as the line yet.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 months ago (1 child)

    And this is taken from a low (as in southerly) angle, making Washington look flatter or squished. That or the aspect ratio was altered.

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  • [–] 3 points 3 months ago

    It’s definitely from the south, and low earth orbit is really low. It’s like putting your eye right up to a baseball, almost touching it.

    See where the ISS orbits, to scale, here:

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