BEIJING, Oct. 14-- NASA has released images of the Earth generated by its"Blue Marble: Next Generation" technology, which has allowed the space agency to create some of the most detailed observations ever made of the world.

Scientists and data visualizers stitched together a full year's worth of monthly observations of the land surface, coastal oceans, sea ice, and clouds into a seamless, photo-like mosaic of every square kilometer of our planet.(NASA)

The new imagery provides a detailed look at an entire year in the life of the planet. The monthly images reveal seasonal changes to the land surface, the greening and dying-back of vegetation in temperate regions such as North America and Europe, the dry and wet seasons in the tropics, and the advancing and retreating of Northern Hemisphere snow cover.

The new Blue Marble is available free of charge to the public. Users can download images of the entire globe, or just selected regions of interest.

(Source: CCTV.com)