There are always clouds covering some parts of the planet

Aug 30, 2013 18:51 GMT  ·  By

With online maps giving us views of our world that a decade ago were exclusive to governments and very rich companies, we've gotten accustomed to great quality satellite images or our world.

We've also gotten accustomed to a cloud-free planet even though, in reality, a large part of our planet is always covered by clouds.

But map makers have gone to great lengths to select only the clearest and best satellite images to put together this cloud-free view. They go through thousands of images and use complex algorithms to find the best views and combined them to cover the entire Earth.

Sometimes though, they get lucky and snap a photo like the one NASA got from its Terra satellite earlier this month.

France was completely devoid of any clouds at the moment the shot was taken, creating a clear uninterrupted view of the entire country.