DigitalGlobe has compiled the 20 coolest satellite images from 2013, taken by the company’s five Earth-imaging satellites.
The company is asking fans to vote for their favorite birds-eye views of Earth on its Facebook page.
The top five images with the most “likes” will make it to the final round later this month. The website will announce the winning image in early January 2014.
Right now, a medieval fortified palace in Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, is in the lead with 572 likes.
Check out all of the images here, then head over to the Facebook album to vote for your favorite.
The Cambambe Dam on the Cuanza River in southern Africa’s Angola. (April 28, 2013)
A false color image of wildfires in the Australian state of Tasmania. Healthy vegetation is colored red. (Jan. 6, 2013)
The Citadel of Aleppo, a medieval fortified palace in Syria. If you rotate the picture 180 degrees, the “hole” becomes a “hill,” an interesting optical illusion. (May 26, 2013)
The Colorado River in Utah. (April 22, 2013)
The Palace of Versailles in France. (Aug. 20, 2013)
The Great Barrier Reef in Australia (April 22, 2013)
Australia, April 22, 2013 – Great Barrier Reef
This is a satellite image of The Great Barrier Reef, Australia collected on April 22, 2013.
Massive “green tide” pictured near the city of Sur in the Arab state of Oman. (Feb. 13, 2013)
Croatia’s small, heart-shaped island of Galešnjak, also called Island of Love. (Feb. 16, 2013)
Manam Volcano located off the northern coast of New Guinea. (March 22, 2013)
Mount Vesuvius in Naples, Italy. (Feb. 19, 2013)
Naples, Italy, Feb. 19 2013 – Mount Vesuvius in Naples, Italy.
The Namib Desert in Southern Africa. (May 13, 2013)
A uranium mine in Arlit, an industrial town in Niger. (Feb. 13, 2013)
A new island created by an earthquake in Pakistan on the Gwadar coast. (Sept. 29, 2013)
An artificial island spanning roughly 1.5 square miles in Qatar’s capital of Doha. (March 4, 2013)
The site of the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. (March 17, 2013)
A group of three cays — small, sandy islands formed on the surface of a coral reef — called the Schooner Cays in the Bahamas. (May 26, 2013)
A view of the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia opera house and Gullivers theme park in Valencia, Spain. (July 19, 2013)
Shiyuan Park in Xian, China. (Sept. 24, 2013)
Read more:
A giant rubber duck seen in Hong Kong, China. (May 9, 2013)
A large-scale art work, called “Wish,” seen in Belfast, the largest city in Northern Ireland. (Nov. 3, 2013)
