Tiny Lens Captures Stunning Image of Earth

The European Space Agency's TRISAT-R CubeSat has captured an image of Earth using an extremely miniaturized camera, about the size of the edge of a coin. The camera, equipped with lenses made from clear borosilicate glass, took the photo from an altitude of around 3,730 miles. Although the image is low resolution, the team's primary goal was to capture examples of the "Black Sun effect," a common issue with digital imaging on Earth. The TRISAT-R CubeSat is Slovenia's second space mission and is designed to study the ionosphere and the inner Van Allen radiation belt.