Watch a captivating timelapse of the Earth in infrared light

From November 30th, 2014 to January 26th, 2015, two geostationary satellites, GOES 13 and GOES 15, captured images of the Earth in infrared light. Now James Tyrwhitt-Drake, a student of advanced microscopy, has created a timelapse of it.

Tyrwhitt-Drake downloaded the images from the satellites’ multispectral, infrared-capturing channels, pulling 700 frames from the 27-day time period. The clip shows a mind-boggling kaleidoscope of water vapor shifting in the atmosphere, shot from 35,800 km (22,300 miles) above the Earth. The animation might seem to be moving slowly, but keep in mind as you watch: the timelapse plays at a rate of 21 hours per second.