Stunning satellite images show just how much people have changed the Earth

Courtesy of Daily Overview/Benjamin Grant

The Gemasolar Thermosolar Plant, Seville, Spain.

Essentially, it's when astronauts, who are seeing Earth from a great distance, suddenly have a mental clarity - a new understanding on what it means to be alive, and how everything is connected.

Basically, it's when they realize how small and insignificant we really are.

Benjamin Grant is no astronaut, but he experienced something akin to the Overview Effect when he was looking through satellite images of the world.

Grant, a consultant in New York, was trying to find satellite imagery of Earth, but instead pulled up images of Earth, Texas. "Thankfully it did that because it changed my life forever," he said. The tiny town is surrounded by perfect circles created by pivot irrigation systems, which got Grant thinking about the Overview Effect.

"[The circles are] the result of the technology we've created, and our means to harness the landscape to grow crops and to get food [...] I was astounded, and it led me to want to know more, and ask questions, and figure out the story behind this perfect geometry I was seeing. I think it makes sense then that I would use that visual allure as an introduction to facts and stories, and it all went from there."

Grant is referring to his new book, "Daily Overview," in which he uses stunning, art-like satellite imagery to start conversations about our impact on the planet.