I get a periodic email from the NASA Earth Observatory (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov) with links to interesting images of the Earth. The most recent included a nice image of Ireland’s topography, generated by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission in 2000.
Here’s the link to the page (includes explanatory text and link to hi-res copy of image):
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=16853
And here’s the image (lo-res):
Just thought I’d share.
Cheers,
John
I’m lazy, and don’t feel like following the link right now…but that’s very pretty–it just doesn’t look real.
That’s because it’s not “real”, as in an actual photograph. It’s a “false-color” image created from radar data which emphasizes the land elevation. 
If you want a “true-color” image (i.e., like a photograph), go here:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=10889
Or look here:
Cheers,
John
Fantastic!!! ‘
’
I have been reading a lot of the history of “the isles” and these should help. The borders of kingdoms appear to be arbitrary lines until they are overlaid on a topo map.
Have you come across anything similar for the big island? There didn’t seem to be anything like it on the NASA site.
Thanks for the link!
Roger
Excellent image.
Brings a tear to my eye.. 
Slan,
D.
Good resolution, can see Mutton island, which I can also see from my window 
I had the same problem with the American state lines 
There’s another site (drawing a blank) with satellite images you can use to zoom in. I can find my house and lots of details. I’ll try to remember the name.
Those are great pictures.
Martin, US state lines are easy. For example, if you are in western Nebraska the landscape is kind of flat and scrubby. When you cross into Colorado the landscape is kind of flat and scrubby. See?
Nope, but I’ll keep my eyes open.
No, no, no! Nebraska is flat and scrubby, and eastern Colorado is scrubby and flat! It’s all in the details. Sheesh!
Ireland is essentially a depression ringed by relatively low mountains
Clearly, it’s more a state of mind than a country. 
Thanks for sharing, John.
It’s now my newest wallpaper on the computer. But is that snow I see on the northern-most mountains or just clouds?
Some of it is just clouds, but there is a good bit of snow on the higher mountains. (I used to work in multispectral satellite image processing, writing algorithms for detecting clouds.)
Gee “J”,
I thought your post said Typography of Ireland. You can imagine my surprise to see an space-view shot of Ireland
BUT, the “real” shot is breathtaking!!
And the pollution is apparently very bad in Dublin:
Ireland’s largest city, Dublin, makes a purplish-gray patch peeking out from the clouds about halfway down the east coast.
Nah, that would be Darwin’s post in this thread: http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=27796&start=15
That would be due to all the people smoking outdoors outside pubs and offices.