DISH's Earth channel takes a big picture view
By Steven Kim 
posted Apr 24th 2009 11:27AM
posted Apr 24th 2009 11:27AM
Earth Day has come and gone, but in case you need to be reminded of how we're all just passengers on this "big blue marble," check out DISH network's new Earth channel. On channel 212 you won't be treated to jaw-dropping or shark-jumping plotlines, just a 24-hour feed of the Earth from a camera mounted on the EchoStar 11 satellite that went up about a year ago. Hanging tens of thousands of miles above our planet, the camera offers up pixels that cover 20-km each. Sure, it might not be as breathtaking as an Earth-rise from the moon -- heck, it's not even in HD -- but it should still put some perspective on things.
GIMMICK!
I think it's pretty cool. To see any action you have to let the DVR record an hour of it, then FF or REW at 300x. But a live visible light image of the entire Earth has been on my wish list for quite some time. To appease all you haterz, I doubt they'll keep it online long.
Wait till the start panning and zooming... this is the best....
I would rather have this than the shopping channel.....
TNX Dish....
Joe
WB6BJM
Ever since the Sarah Connor Chronicles was canceled (I mean, the season ended, sorry. Yeah, yeah, that's it. The season ended...) I've been searching for something to watch on Friday evenings with just as much action.
Seriously though, I think this is great. Good on Dish. HD would be even more awesome, but I suspect throwing an HD camera up there would have been a little ambitious.
Pretty soon you'll see channel drift, and reality programs focusing on fake drama with Pluto feeling outcast from the other planets.
You should so check this out... we want your opinion on Satellite TV providers! No free gifts, no gimmicks, simply leave a comment and voice your opinion.
http://dishnetworkdirectv.blogspot.com/
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am 69 years old and this one picture shows the sum of our technological leaps since I was a kid reading comic books about space travel. This picture shows just how insignificant we humans are. A space traveler could pass this close to Earth and never know there was intelligent life here (sometimes I wonder myself). PLEASE DON'T EVER TAKE THIS OFF THE AIR. Along with the nice music, I find myself just sitting here staring at this beautiful blue marble.
Sincerely
Lacy R. Jones
Batesville, AR
p.s. where can I get some answers to a technical question about this channel?
I found this channel last night, even thou most of the shot was dark, I could not take my eyes off this breathtaking sight!!! coupled with the music,the excellent, positive, joyus,music of artist who love life and who shared their best with us. God is sharing his best with us, he has a message for us all, the next time we hear him calling to us we should take time to listen and respond!! ISAIAH 55: 6
Dish network EARTH: Fantastic! I was stunned and mesmerized when I first found this channel! Bravo, Dish!
http//www.loftlore.com
Found the channel by accident today...watched and listened all day as we worked on the house! Great music too! YES...definitely gives a great perspective on life! ...as does www.GoNewsNOW.tv ...great work DISH!!! =)
I too found the channel by accident and watched and listened all day. I was filled with such wonder at seeing Earth live in real time. It felt unreal. Yet I felt a connection I'd never felt before. It is fascinating to watch, and the music is great. Thanks Dish, what a gift you've given us.
This is just an incredible picture of our great planet. Its a shame it wasn't on dish network much sooner, its almost the end of the world now. The earth is fully capable of wrecking havoc on those that have so polluted her.
Didn't Dish Network let you use an actual image taken from Dish channel 212? Your stock illustration is taken from above the US around lat. 34°, while Echosat 11 is parked on the equator, and shows all of North and South America equally well. It's kind of neat to see how clouds seem to be repelled from the equator in both the northern and southern hemispheres as they drift westward between South America and the South Pacific.
Cool new channel. Thanks DISH!
I've watched a bit of this channel..... it's always the same pic!!! Yes. picture! The cloud formations are always the same. ALWAYS. The only difference is at night when there is "sun glare." My opinion is that, it is a gimmick. Every time I watch it during the day, like I said, It's always the same. Same clouds, same ground showing through the clouds. Strange.
Pat, it is not the same "picture". Of course, the land masses are the same, because the satelite is in geo-synch orbit with the planet. We see the western hemisphere. The clouds vary greatly. I saw a large storm last week, and yesterday most of North America was under cloud cover. It is 7:39 EST here now, and I can see darkness approaching the continent. At 4 am one morning, I caught a glimpse of the moon just as it was going behind the planet. You have to be patient to see changes. Try taping for a couple of hours, and then fast forward. You might be surprised. One clear day, you could see the Rocky Mountain range very clearly. I called my dad in another state so that he could see it also. Amazing!
I have watched this channel numerous times and it is obviously not the same picture. If you watch long enough you can see the clouds move. I have tuned in on the hour and half hour all day and into the early morning hours just to see the progress of night falling. The earth is never in complete darkness. The North Pole is still light and when the season changes I think the South Pole will be light. You can see stars beyond the earth. In any case I am awed.
Yesterday night I let it record for around 5 and half hours and played it back FF at 300 times normal play speed. I was intrigued by a white dot that moved across the top of the screen in a straight line from the left of the screen across on the right. Briefly it was eclipsed by the top of the earth and came out of the other side of the Earth till it disappeared off the screen on the right hand side. I also happened to see a triangle of 3 white dots in the lower right quarter of the screen, close to the earth, that is only seen when the Sun is on the other side of the earth (they are not visible when the earth is lighted up in the day time). I wonder if they are stationary satellites coz they also do not seem to move relative to either the earth or the frame of the picture. They are not always visible, probably being hidden when they are in the earth's shadow and shining when the shadow leaves them. The dot that appeared to move fast intrigues me coz it moved in a straight line as opposed to a curved line that would have suggested that it was orbiting the Earth. I am thinking that it may be a fast moving satellite whose orbit happens to larger than that of the Dish Network satellite, which would coz it to appear to move in a straight line in the picture frame, although in reality it must also be orbiting the earth, but the question then is, are there really fast moving satellites at such a great distance from the earth (upwards of 22000 miles) ? Those interested should look for the white dot at night between 11:30pm and 3:00am in the upper region of the picture frame, just under the border. It appears from the left of the frame, slowly moving across and exits on the right in a few hours. I will be recording it again tonight to see if I capture it again.
Have been following the objects of interest mentioned in my previous posting closely and I now think that the the 3 dots that appear everyday at the same location from 10:30pm onwards in the lower right quadrant are specs of dust on the camera, which get lighted up and remain lighted as long as the sun light falls directly on them (which is when the sun moves into the 180 degree field of view in front of the lense). These dots cannot be seen when the Earth is lighted up in the day time, as the Sun is behind the camera.
That other dot that moved from left to right of the screen in an apparent straight line is definitely a planet/star as it moved a bit north with every passing day, until now it has moved out of the field of view. This follows the Sun's movement northwards during summer (June 21st being the longest day of the year). So we should be seeing it back again sometime in July/August as the Sun starts its move back South.
GIMMICK!!!!!
I recorded 16 HOURS of this channel and while the shadow moves the clouds do NOT. In all 16 hours the majority of America is under clouds. The storms in the Pacific DO NOT MOVE.
GIMMICK!!!
Hi Mavor!
Try recording/watching the channel from day to day rather than day to night. Cloud formations are HUGE, they are like massive fog lakes that dangle our water reserve over our heads. From where you stand on the ground the clouds might move rather quickly and change rapidly but for a camera that is moving at millions of mph millions of miles away, things certainly look different. Actually, thanks to DISH we get to see a more accurate view of a very small part of our universe.
.
Dear Dish,
I'm surprised how mesmerizing this image is. Finally, after 2.5 million years of clawing our way to continuous food supply, well constructed housing and reliable transportation we're able to sit down and look on the planet we live on. I'm sorry my ancestors missed it. It would have changed their lives. This is right out of Space Odyssey.
where can I see your play list? I know some of these songs but can't remember the names.
Good stuff!
If you can remember a line from the song, try a google search for that line... it should be pretty simple from there. It is a sirius station but idk which one. The station is def heavy on America and Neil Young...thank bob.
they can't be serious.
making us pay for some useless crap like that..bye bye dish
Okay, I love this channel. I watch about 3-4 hours a week of TV and the rest of my viewing is ch 212. My friends will come over and we just hang out and listen to groovy tunes and talk about the universe. I love falling asleep with the station on and waking up to a completely different world. best-channel-ever.
But one thing just perplexes me terribly so... I don't know how to explain it but I found a time lapse of Echostar 11 (satellite) footage. Can anyone tell me what happens EXACTLY at 0:19-0:20 of the clip?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDvaU-GyIYE
Is this a flare? an illusion? a reality? I do not know...
Check out the moon as it sails by from 0:45-0:52!!!