These stunning photographs may look like alien planets, but they are actually satellite images of planet Earth. Commercial satellite company DigitalGlobe recently released the images as a way of highlighting the incredible detail of their imagery – the highest-resolution commercial satellite imagery in the world. Some of the images – taken above Afghanistan, Algeria, Peru, Russia and the United States – look more like abstract works by Mondrian than segments of the globe. DigitalGlobe, based in Westminster, Colo., launched its first satellite in 1999 and currently has four in operation. Here: Trementina, New Mexico. (Photo by DigitalGlobe/Caters News)

“BASE jumping, also sometimes written as B.A.S.E jumping, is an activity that employs an initially packed parachute to jump from fixed objects. “B.A.S.E.” is an acronym that stands for four categories of fixed objects from which one can jump: buildings, antennas, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs)”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Felix Baumgartner, world-renowned B.A.S.E jumper, is pictured in this undated handout photo. Baumgartner will attempt the first unpowered crossing of the strait between England and France. (Photo by Red Bull via Getty Images)

Police react to a suspicious vehicle near La Carillon restaurant following a series of deadly attacks in Paris, November 15, 2015. Thousands of French troops deployed around Paris on Sunday and tourist sites stood shuttered in one of the most visited cities on Earth while investigators questioned the relatives of a suspected suicide bomber involved in the country's deadliest violence since World War II. (Photo by Pascal Rossignol/Reuters)

The second and final qualification motor (QM-2) test for the Space Launch System's booster, June 28, 2016, at Orbital ATK Propulsion Systems test facilities in Promontory, Utah. During the Space Launch System flight the boosters will provide more than 75 percent of the thrust needed to escape the gravitational pull of the Earth, the first step on NASA's Journey to Mars. (Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA)

Baby clouded leopards, born early in March 2015, are presented by zoo keepers at the Olmense Zoo in Olmen, Belgium, April 16, 2015. The clouded leopard is an endangered species with only some 10,000 specimen remaining on earth, said Robby Van der Velden, a biologist at the Olmense Zoo. (Photo by Yves Herman/Reuters)

Serra da Aboboreira Megalithic Set (Meninas do Crasto) on September 24, 2023 in Baiao, Portugal. Since 1978 that Serra da Aboboreira (Aboboreira Mountains) has been the scene of a systematic study of its archeological values, among which are the monuments known as megalithic. These are funerary monuments designing the landscape. These dolmens were constructed with stones (lithos) of medium or large dimensions (mega), which were laid in a, more or less, vertical position. Over these, it was still placed a lid, also of stone. These containers were covered by an artificial mound of earth and stones (dolmen). (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

Underwater photographer Alexander Semenovs has snapped some of the most stunning, fragile life forms anywhere on planet Earth. Shot in deep, dark conditions, the images continue to provide an insight into what lies beneath, with glowing creatures appearing a lot like aliens in the pitch-black water. Semenovs has shot the likes of bioluminescent jellyfish, aggressive-looking worms and many species that leave a lot to the imagination. The 30-year-old from Moscow does the majority of his work in the White Sea, near the Arctic Circle. Here: A Comb jelly – Beroe cucumis. (Photo by Alexander Semenovs/Caters News)

This series of pictures shot by satellite, show the man-made world as astronauts see it. Artist Benjamin Grant uses Google Earth to find the most compelling satellite images of human civilization. The stunning pictures of sprawling metropolises and vast reservoirs are sometimes unidentifiable until zoomed in. In order to find an extraordinary picture in the practically endless supply of satellite data, Benjamin focuses on the themes of current events or environmental issues. Here: Industrial Sector, Tokai, Japan. (Photo by Benjamin Grant/Digital Globe/Caters News)