Environment Planet Earth Earth Day: 8 Epic Videos of Our Planet By Russell McLendon Senior Writer University of Georgia Russell McLendon is a science journalist who covers a wide range of topics about the natural environment, humans, and other wildlife. our editorial process Russell McLendon Updated April 21, 2020 The setting sun highlights Earth's thin atmosphere, as seen from the International Space Station. (Photo: NASA). Share Twitter Pinterest Email Environment Weather Outdoors Conservation The Earth may be a pale blue dot in the cosmic sense, but it still seems pretty big to us. It's large enough that much of what happens here escapes our attention, leaving us to appreciate only a sliver of our planet — even on a holiday called Earth Day. Earth Day was founded in 1970 to galvanize the environmental movement, which at the time was often fighting relatively local battles. But from international whaling to global warming, environmental issues have grown increasingly big-picture lately, befitting a holiday whose name was big-picture all along. So in honor of Earth Day's all-inclusive nature, here's a video tribute to all seven continents — plus the oceans and atmosphere — that highlights some of the planet's less obvious wonders. Most of the footage presented here is in time-lapse, since Earth's majesty doesn't always manifest itself very quickly. North America Arizona and Utah — United States Europe Mount Teide — Canary Islands, Spain Africa Drakensberg — South Africa Asia Himalayas — Nepal and Tibet South America Patagonia — Argentina and Chile Australia Various locations Antarctica Various locations Low-Earth orbit From the International Space Station