WHY ASTRONAUTS GET AWESTRUCK VIEWING EARTH FROM SPACE

What if you can watch the Earth -- its blue-and-white marbling stark against a black interstellar backdrop -- from space? The experience will sure evoke an intense awe like it happens with astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) , says IANS.

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania's positive psychology centre are now studying the phenomenon called the "overview effect" to better understand the emotions astronauts commonly recount when they look at the Blue Marble from space.

"We watch sunsets whenever we travel to beautiful places to get a little taste of this kind of experience. These astronauts are having something more extreme," said lead researcher David Yaden. "By studying the more-extreme version of a general phenomenon, you can often learn more about it," he added.

To understand the "overview effect", Yaden and colleagues analysed excerpts from astronauts from all over the world who documented viewing the Earth from space. Themes emerged from the quotes, ideas like unity, vastness, connectedness and perception -- in general the sense of an overwhelming, life-changing moment.

The effort is to look at implications for space flight as the aeronautical community heads toward years-long missions to places like Mars and to understand how to induce a similar sensation for nonastronauts.