The Smithsonian Institution has announced a new Web site — Earth From Space — that provides information about and examples of satellite imagery. This is a little out of my sphere but since Google Maps and other imagery-using maps are so popular, I thought I’d cover it here. You can visit at http://www.earthfromspace.si.edu/ .

Among the offerings here is an online exhibit that offers images in several different categories, including “Water and Air” “Structure of the Land”, and “Human Presence”. You can zoom in considerably on each of the views provided, but be sure to wait for the picture to reload after you zoom (or else you’ll be staring at pixels.)

In addition to the limited imagery, there’s also a page of lesson plans on the site. (And if you like the lessons page, visit the resources page, which points to several external resources.)

Apparently this site was developed to support a tour of Earth from Space, a collaboration between SITES and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. The tour schedule is nowhere near filled (the tour will be running through 2010!) but you can see what’s been booked so far at http://www.sites.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibits/earth/main.htm#itinerary.