A digicam onboard the Worldwide Area Station (ISS) lately caught sight of curious markings stretching throughout the Tunisian desert — symbols so distinct that they resemble writing carved into the sand.
The footage, captured on April 15, comes from “SpaceTV-1,” considered one of three high-definition cameras dwell streaming firm Sen operates aboard the ISS. These cameras stream 4K video of Earth’s floor whereas connected to the station because it orbits 250 miles overhead at 17,000 mph.
“This caught our consideration,” says Charles Black, founding father of Sen, in an interview with Mashable when requested in regards to the unusual markings.
Sen’s latest video (beneath) reveals the patterns in stark distinction in opposition to Tunisia’s barren plains. Whereas the shapes counsel one thing cryptic at first look, the corporate explains they’ve a extra sensible origin.
“Whereas it might appear to be a cryptic message, it’s really a placing view of agricultural patterns within the desert panorama,” reads the caption accompanying the video on Sen’s YouTube channel.
Black provides that the objective isn’t at all times to instantly determine the scenes their cameras document. “We would like the viewers to be engaged,” he explains to Mashable. “It’s selling debate, dialogue, and curiosity. We’ll label the placement, however we would like the viewers to resolve, focus on, and make feedback.”
Sen, based in 2007 and based mostly within the UK, focuses on making house knowledge accessible to the general public, from real-time Earth commentary to insights on house occasions. Their cameras are mounted on a European Area Company (ESA) module aboard an Airbus platform, which provides each energy and entry to NASA’s communication channels. Putting in cameras on the ISS isn’t simple: Sen’s system needed to cross rigorous Electromagnetic Interference testing and clear three NASA security opinions earlier than going dwell.
The Tunisian desert isn’t the one place the place Sen’s cameras have caught eye-catching phenomena. Latest movies embody smoke plumes from wildfires in Kansas and Veracruz, in addition to fishing boats across the Falkland Islands, the place shiny LED arrays create an eerie glow seen from orbit.
For Black, the attraction of the livestream is the unpredictability. “Every time you go online, you’ll be able to see one thing completely different,” he says. “You by no means know what you may see.”
You’ll be able to try Sen’s livestream digicam on its website.
Picture credit: SEN
