Beautiful Satellite Photos Show Our Fragile World From Above

Since the dawn of space travel, astronauts have tried to put into words the profound experience of viewing the globe as a tiny blue dot in a vast universe -- dubbed the Overview Effect.

“When we look down at the Earth from space we see this amazing, indescribably beautiful planet -- it looks like a living, breathing organism," NASA astronaut Ron Garan said in the short film Overview. "But it also, at the same time, looks extremely fragile."

Artist Benjamin Grant was inspired by descriptions of the Overview Effect to try and bring this vantage point to the rest of us non-astronauts. He created the photography project Daily Overview, which posts a satellite image each day that shows how human activity has impacted our planet, for better or worse.

“What I’m really trying to get across here is that we’ve entered an important time in human history where our home has been significantly altered,” Grant told Wired magazine. “When people see the images, they want to know more."

See below for a selection of the Daily Overview's images, and visit the project's website and Instagram page for more.