These Photos Taken From Space Look Astonishingly Like Art Masterpieces

Since 1999, Japan’s ASTER (short for Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) has been generating images of earth from NASA's Terra spacecraft. The results of this collaborative effort between Japan and the United States has now been made public, and anyone with an internet connection can look up sites like the Great Wall of China and rare views of the lava flows of Mt. Etna.

This isn’t the first time NASA has released playful art—they previously released these cheeky space travel posters. But this is completely different, and enthralling in its own way. Looked at through the eyes (or sensors) of ASTER, the world in all its thermal glory looks more like an impressionist painting than the high-resolution chaos it appears to be from below. In honor of this more artful view of the world, we paired some of our favorite space images with the fine art classics they evoke. Click through for some surprising pairings.

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