Most CG Earth renders have to reduce the amount of clouds or lower the density of the air (or omit the atmosphere altogether) so the Earth can look more recognizable to the average viewer.

Personally I like how the atmospheric scattering gives the Earth a soft translucent feel.

More info at http://project-eden.blogspot.com

Earth at night inspired by NASA video from the International Space Station. One of the more interesting things I observe from the ISS videos was the "airglow" which was clearly visible as a thin yellow-green line at the top edge of the Earth's atmosphere for night exposures.

More info at http://project-eden.blogspot.com

The Himalayas are the tallest mountain ranges on the planet, about 6-8000m above sea level, yet they don't look as jagged from space as we might imagine. Many CG Earth renders has to exaggerate the elevation by an order of at least 3 times to get a decent effect. I kept to relatively realistic values so the mountains don't really stand out.

If the Earth is the size of an apple, the entire Earth's crust would be thinner than the apple skin, which means the highest mountains like Mt. Everest won't even pop out like a pimple

More info at http://project-eden.blogspot.com