These stunning 121 megapixel photos of the earth are from the Russian satellite Elektro-L. The Russian satellite was launched back in January 2011, and has took the photos with a single shot, opposed to what any previous satellites could provide. Elektro-L is able to provide single shot photos unlike NASA’s earth images, which provides layered images.
This news comes shortly after the new Nokia PureView 41 megapixel phone was announced. – Another story for big advancements in digital camera technology.
Elektro-L travels the same speed as the earth in a fixed position, and is over 22,000 miles above earth. The infrared technology used has highlighted areas of vegetation, which appear as orange.
You can download the full ulta-def sized image here: here (100+ megabytes).