"Lost" Satellite Photos Reveal Surprising Views of Earth in the 1960s

Images reveal the most Antarctic ice on record and the Aral Sea before it dried up.

Scientists have uncovered a cache of satellite images of Earth from the 1960s that had been forgotten in storage for nearly 50 years and that push back the first satellite images of our planet a full 17 years.

The images, when compared with recent satellite photos, show how humankind has changed the planet, from deforestation to changes in sea ice. (Related: "Maps From Space Show World's Disappearing Forests.")

Among the images from 1964 were views of Antarctica that showed a greater extent of sea ice than ever measured since. That is, until recent weeks, when the 1964 record was broken just as it was discovered to be a record at all. Unlike Arctic sea ice, which has been in decline

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