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October 20, 2022 | ISSUE 48 |
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PlanetScope • Lusail, Qatar • October 2022 |
In this week’s issue: RapidEye and PlanetScope team up to show some places that have drastically changed in the last decade; an expensive ghost town reclaims land in Malaysia; and a colony of penguins leaves behind a mess in Antarctica. |
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FEATURED STORYDecadal Timelapses
Rewind a decade and you’ll find a world a bit different than it is today. Big tech was on the rise with the recent launches of iPhone, Netflix streaming, and Instagram. Social movements grew, climate change intensified, and people worried—and just as soon forgot—that the world was ending as foretold by the Mayan calendar. Change is rapid in the 21st century. Blink and you may find yourself living in an unfamiliar world.
Around a decade ago a quieter change was taking place: the rise of smallsats. We’re biased, but these little satellites are revolutionizing how we see and understand the world. In 2008, a German remote sensing company called BlackBridge helped pioneer the industry with the launch of 5 satellites, dubbed RapidEye, into orbit. Although we acquired and then later retired the constellation in 2020, the fruits from its storied career are still ripe (perhaps you’ve seen one of its popular images like Malaspina Glacier). So today we’re bridging the ends of the decade and the two constellations to bring you a mashup: RapidEye meets PlanetScope.
(If GIFS aren’t loading, or you’d prefer viewing the timelapses as side-by-side images, then click here.)
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RapidEye / PlanetScope • Wadi As-Sirhan Basin, Saudi Arabia • April 2012 - November 2022 |
Egypt is no stranger to constructing monumental projects, but their newest undertaking really puts the capital in New Administrative Capital. The country is building a $59 billion city with engineering feats like Africa’s tallest skyscraper and disc-shaped palaces inspired by the ancient sun god. Egypt’s president is determined to finish the megaproject, but resistance to its growing cost is rising. |
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RapidEye / PlanetScope • New Administrative Capital, Egypt • August 2012 - September 2022 |
A lot happens in 10 years, but the four-year FIFA World Cup cycle only averages 2 tournaments during this time. Qatar is hosting the event this year—to some controversy—and one its main stadiums is located in the newly-built city Lusail. |
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RapidEye / PlanetScope • Lusail, Qatar • November 2009 - October 2022 |
The Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico is about as close to a gold mine as an oil prospector can get. Almost 40% of oil production in the US comes from this region, making it the country’s oily breadbasket. Take a look as oil-pumping fields spread throughout the area over the past decade. |
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RapidEye / PlanetScope • Permian Basin, Texas, USA • February 2009 - September 2022 |
As the planet warms, ice melts. This fact makes images of retreating glaciers a great shorthand for the effects of climate change. And the Columbia Glacier is perhaps the most popular. Since the 1980s it has rapidly retreated by over 12 miles (19 km), with each bit lost contributing to sea level rise. |
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RapidEye / PlanetScope • Columbia Glacier, Alaska, USA • September 2010 - July 2022 |
Those fond of sand castles should get a kick out of Kuwait’s Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City. An elaborate moat brings water from the Persian Gulf onto land to create a city that will be the size of Manhattan when completed. |
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RapidEye / PlanetScope • Sabah Al Ahmad Sea City, Kuwait • January 2011 - October 2022 |
Part of smallsats' allure is their ability to transform static images of coordinates into living, dynamic displays of change. The farther back the reference image, the more change you can see. Our imagery archive expanded with the acquisition of RapidEye in 2015. And despite the immense change that can happen in a decade, it’s tiny compared to what the archive will be as time goes on and satellites continue imaging Earth. The planet is old, but Planet is young. |
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RapidEye / PlanetScope • Qarhan Playa, China • October 2009 - September 2022 |
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Change of the weekGhost City
In the immortal words of Smash Mouth’s All Star, “all that glitters is gold.” Alongside shooting stars, it looks like Malaysia’s Forest City also breaks this mold. It’s a spanking new $100 billion development that looks like a paradise from one angle but a ghost town from every other. The green city is built on reclaimed land and has all the bells and whistles for a sci-fi metropolis—except the people. Only a few thousand souls live among the massive structures built to accommodate the expected 1 million residents, lending the artificial island an eerily empty atmosphere. And if you’re a fan of the spooky, then tune in next week where we’ll be having some good old fashioned Halloween-satellite fun. |
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RapidEye / PlanetScope • Forest City, Malaysia • June 2014 - January 2022 |
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