10 Stunning Pictures From Space

 These spiraling cloud patterns, caused when prevailing ocean winds encounter an island, are known as von Karman vortices or 'vortex streets'.

Electric blue-coloured plankton blooms swirl in the North Atlantic ocean off Ireland

Phytoplankton 

The Tuamotu Archipelago a part of French Polynesia.

 the Taklimakan desert, China

 The western end of the Samoan Island chain lies Savai'i.

Hurricane Danielle churns in the Atlantic Ocean

Cape Kazantip

Aqua satellite detected 148,946 fires in this image

Cloudless skies allow a clear view of dust and hydrogen sulfide plumes along the coast of Namibia

Alicia Keys and Queen Latifah cautiously floated in the ocean

 Alicia Keys and Queen Latifah cautiously floated in the ocean 

The waters over the North Pacific Ocean were covered in interesting cloud formations

The waters over the North Pacific Ocean were covered in interesting cloud formations 

NASA GSFC         

A Great White Shark is seen in the Indian Ocean

 A Great White Shark is seen in the Indian Ocean

A surfer emerges from the inside of a wave in Cardiff

A surfer emerges from the inside of a wave in Cardiff, California as large ocean swells precede a coming storm January 15, 2010.
Credit: REUTERS/Mike Blake

Travelers Catherine and Neville Hockley crossed more than 3,000 miles of open ocean

Travelers Catherine and Neville Hockley crossed more than 3,000 miles of open ocean before arriving in the Marquesas. The voyage by the numbers: 28 days and 31 minutes spent on the open sea; 3,142 nautical miles traveled; 25 gallons of diesel and one propane tank used; five small bags of garbage collected; seven Mahi Mahi caught. (Courtesy Neville and Catherine Hockley) abcnews.go.com

A youth jumps into the ocean from a pole at Isabela de Sagua

A youth jumps into the ocean from a pole at Isabela de Sagua, province of Santa Clara in central Cuba, July 18, 2009.

REUTERS/Desmond Boylan