Partly inspired by Hill's challenge here are a series of overlay photos throughout the Pacific, in no particular order, as snapped by astronauts on various missions. Some were taken with ordinary digital cameras.

Views range from high-altitude area overviews to (almost) extreme close-ups, with emphasis varying from coral reefs to WW2 historical spots to active volcanoes. I think each is interesting in its own right, and many are downright spectacular. All photos and accompanying text are courtesy NASA's Earth From Space: Astronauts' Views of the Home Planet. The overlays are aligned by coastlines, borders, roads, and/or terrain - whichever seemed more appropriate.

Yes, many of these spots have been previously placemarked.. but hopefully the overlays are new, so please don't slap my hands

Neon...great job. Overlays are well done, and a great tour of the Pacific islands even without the overlays. Later, you might add some more "historical significance" notes. Here's a brief question inspired by my earlier gender confusion. Who was trying to get to Howland island, but died trying? Of course, the question is open to all who may be interested.

Thanks Jumble! That means a lot

Yea, there are a ton of back-stories of all types around that big blue. I was really just struck by the beauty and accessibility of the various astronaut photos for this round, and took the easier route of just pasting in their accompanying text, but I may attempt a more in-depth version at some point.. unless someone beats me to it. (Feel free, Keyhole historians!)

My first response guess to your question proved right, but to avoid spoilage for anyone else I'll just post this placemark with a note "last seen" .. tis a sad segment to an otherwise triumphant story.

This is a really great tour Neon. Your overlays show the true beauty of what present Keyhole imagery depicts as colorful dust bunnies. The book website is a great source too. Thanks for the tour.
Hill

Quote:

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"We are in a line position of 157'- 337. Will report on 6210 kilocycles. Wait,listen on 6210 kilocycles. We are running North and South."

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Then nothing...

Here is a placemark for a small airport near Atchison, KS named for the aviation pioneer who was setting records and making history during a time women were expected to stay home and out of trouble. Hey Hollywood, how about a new film about Amelia and her accomplishments? The Aviator did well..

A few years back one Linda Finch recreated her ill-fated final flight in a restored Lockheed Electra 10E, the same make and model aircraft as Ms. Earhart's, but with modern instruments installed. Luckily, Ms. Finch made it to Howland Island and all points beyond, landing successfully back at Oakland.



the story

p.s. thanks Hill for the kind words, and the original post asking for Pacific placemarks

One fictional lady Captain, finds a fictionally alive Amelia in this Star Trek Enterprise Episode . Click on the "episode preview"!
(Sorry, this link may take extra seconds to load!)

Very good stuff, thank you for posting this!

Just to let you know, I wrote a story about your nice collection of Pacific Island image overlays at the Google Earth Blog today.

You can read the story here.

Here's the picture I used in the story:

really nice and easy to handle collection thx for lower resolution.
earlier i have started two other topics with higher res images so i had to put them into more posts.
here you are the links from GE community:
numerous islands and atolls from all over the world: HERE
and
a few examples from the aleutian islands of Alaska: HERE.
hope these will meet all your needs!
g