It's been a rough holiday season for everyone — indeed, a rough few years. But seeing the Earth from space tends to put all of our problems into perspective. The phenomenon even has a name: the "Overview Effect."

With that in mind, start 2022 with this amazing time-lapse video of the Earth taken by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who made it while visiting the International Space Station as a tourist. The video constitutes exactly one orbit around the Earth, a view that Maezawa describes a "breathtaking."

Took a time lapse of Earth from the ISS window.
This is exactly an entire orbit around Earth. Breathtaking. pic.twitter.com/54L8lwdmLr

— Yusaku Maezawa (MZ) (@yousuckMZ) December 12, 2021

The 24-second video shows the Earth spinning at a pace that is apt to cause vertigo, with the International Space Station's solar panels rotating in the foreground. It's a sobering view of our little planet; a reminder that the problems we argue about on Twitter and elsewhere are relatively meaningless in the grand scheme of the universe.

Maezawa's trip to space puts him at the leading edge of the space tourism trend that will only grow in 2022. Even now, Blue Origin is working on its own private space station, and Maezawa hopes to catch a trip around the moon on a future SpaceX flight.

Space tourism is a fraught subject for a lot of reasons, but for now at least we can enjoy this glorious view and reflect on what 2022 might hold for humanity.

Blogroll image credit: Frank Lee / Getty Images

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

It's been a rough holiday season for everyone — indeed, a rough few years. But seeing the Earth from space tends to put all of our problems into perspective. The phenomenon even has a name: the "Overview Effect."

With that in mind, start 2022 with this amazing time-lapse video of the Earth taken by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, who made it while visiting the International Space Station as a tourist. The video constitutes exactly one orbit around the Earth, a view that Maezawa describes a "breathtaking."

Took a time lapse of Earth from the ISS window.
This is exactly an entire orbit around Earth. Breathtaking. pic.twitter.com/54L8lwdmLr

— Yusaku Maezawa (MZ) (@yousuckMZ) December 12, 2021

The 24-second video shows the Earth spinning at a pace that is apt to cause vertigo, with the International Space Station's solar panels rotating in the foreground. It's a sobering view of our little planet; a reminder that the problems we argue about on Twitter and elsewhere are relatively meaningless in the grand scheme of the universe.

Maezawa's trip to space puts him at the leading edge of the space tourism trend that will only grow in 2022. Even now, Blue Origin is working on its own private space station, and Maezawa hopes to catch a trip around the moon on a future SpaceX flight.

Space tourism is a fraught subject for a lot of reasons, but for now at least we can enjoy this glorious view and reflect on what 2022 might hold for humanity.

Blogroll image credit: Frank Lee / Getty Images

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN

George R.R. Martin has revealed that not only has he seen a rough cut of the first episode of HBO's upcoming Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, but that he has loved what he's seen so far.

Martin shared the news on his Not A Blog website in an entry titled "Most Anticipated," and revealed that he was "chuffed to read that the most anticipated new show, according to IMDB, was... (drum roll, please)... HOUSE OF THE DRAGON!"

He continued to say that, in a year that will also see "Amazon's new Tolkein series," "Neil Gaiman's Sandman," "Marvel shows," and "Star Wars shows," he's very proud to see House of the Dragon recognized as "that's one hell of a list to be at the top of."

Sure, Martin wrote the A Song of Fire and Ice novels that were then adapted into the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones so he is "hardly objective," but he admits that he's eagerly anticipating this series like many of us are. Furthermore, he teased that he's already seen a bit of it in action and has loved what he's seen.

"I am anticipating HOUSE OF THE DRAGON pretty eagerly myself, for what it’s worth," Martin wrote. "Okay, I am hardly objective. And I know a lot of what you will be seeing. (I, um, wrote the book). Also … mum’s the word now, don’t tell anyone… I’ve seen a rough cut of the first episode. And loved it. It’s dark, it’s powerful, it’s visceral… just the way I like my epic fantasy."

He concluded by saying the team behind House of the Dragon - which is based on Martin's own novel Fire & Blood - is doing "an amazing job" and that fans have a lot to look forward to.

"Ryan and Miguel have done an amazing job, and the cast… just as with GAME OF THRONES, most viewers will only have heard of a few of the actors, but I think you are going to fall in love with a lot of them," Martin wrote. "(Only to have your heart broken later when… but no, that would be telling). I think the Targaryens are in very good hands. Anticipate away. I do not think you will be disappointed."

House of the Dragon will premiere on HBO in 2022 and is set 200 years before Game of Thrones. It looks to tell the story of the House Targaryen - the line of kings that ruled Westeros before Robert Baratheon took the throne and kicked off the events of the original series.

House of the Dragon is only one of several Game of Thrones series in the works - including multiple live action series and an animated spin-off - and it is part of a larger deal between Martin and HBO.

For more, be sure to check out our explainer on House of the Dragon and learn a bit more about what we can expect from the ancestors of Daenerys Targaryen.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

George R.R. Martin has revealed that not only has he seen a rough cut of the first episode of HBO's upcoming Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, but that he has loved what he's seen so far.

Martin shared the news on his Not A Blog website in an entry titled "Most Anticipated," and revealed that he was "chuffed to read that the most anticipated new show, according to IMDB, was... (drum roll, please)... HOUSE OF THE DRAGON!"

He continued to say that, in a year that will also see "Amazon's new Tolkein series," "Neil Gaiman's Sandman," "Marvel shows," and "Star Wars shows," he's very proud to see House of the Dragon recognized as "that's one hell of a list to be at the top of."

Sure, Martin wrote the A Song of Fire and Ice novels that were then adapted into the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones so he is "hardly objective," but he admits that he's eagerly anticipating this series like many of us are. Furthermore, he teased that he's already seen a bit of it in action and has loved what he's seen.

"I am anticipating HOUSE OF THE DRAGON pretty eagerly myself, for what it’s worth," Martin wrote. "Okay, I am hardly objective. And I know a lot of what you will be seeing. (I, um, wrote the book). Also … mum’s the word now, don’t tell anyone… I’ve seen a rough cut of the first episode. And loved it. It’s dark, it’s powerful, it’s visceral… just the way I like my epic fantasy."

He concluded by saying the team behind House of the Dragon - which is based on Martin's own novel Fire & Blood - is doing "an amazing job" and that fans have a lot to look forward to.

"Ryan and Miguel have done an amazing job, and the cast… just as with GAME OF THRONES, most viewers will only have heard of a few of the actors, but I think you are going to fall in love with a lot of them," Martin wrote. "(Only to have your heart broken later when… but no, that would be telling). I think the Targaryens are in very good hands. Anticipate away. I do not think you will be disappointed."

House of the Dragon will premiere on HBO in 2022 and is set 200 years before Game of Thrones. It looks to tell the story of the House Targaryen - the line of kings that ruled Westeros before Robert Baratheon took the throne and kicked off the events of the original series.

House of the Dragon is only one of several Game of Thrones series in the works - including multiple live action series and an animated spin-off - and it is part of a larger deal between Martin and HBO.

For more, be sure to check out our explainer on House of the Dragon and learn a bit more about what we can expect from the ancestors of Daenerys Targaryen.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

As 2021 and the holiday season come to a close, the Epic Games Store has one more treat up its sleeve. Until January 6, Tomb Raider: Game of the Year Edition, Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition will all available for free to anyone with an Epic Games account.

The Epic Games Store giving out free games is nothing new as it does so every week, but this final gift in 2021 is something special as it offers the complete Tomb Raider reboot trilogy to anyone with an Epic Games Account. No strings attached.

By looking at the current prices listed on the Epic Games Store for these games, you are looking at a savings of $90 by adding these to your collection this way.

The offer ends on January 6 at 11am, so head to the store before then if you wish to try out the highly regarded trilogy that brought Lara Croft back to modern consoles beginning in 2013.

In our Tomb Raider review, we said that it "is a superb action game that brings a new emotional dimension to one of gaming's most enduring icons, and repositions her alongside Nathan Drake at the top of gaming's action-hero heirarchy."

In our Rise of the Tomb Raider review, we said, "once again it’s Lara herself, however, who steals the show, her complex ambitions and hardened resolve showing new sides to a character who has well and truly grown from survivor to the most fascinating action hero in video games today."

In our Shadow of the Tomb Raider review, we said, "with a story that manages to satisfactorily tread the line between high-concept fun and grounded character exploration, Shadow of the Tomb Raider meaningfully wraps up the journey Lara began in 2013 and convincingly leaves her in a place resembling where she was when we were first introduced to her more than 20 years ago."

If you have yet to play them, this will also give you a chance to catch up before Crystal Dynamics' next, currently unannounced Tomb Raider game that will see the studio "working to unify" the timelines of Core Design's original games and its own reboot trilogy that began in 2013.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

As 2021 and the holiday season come to a close, the Epic Games Store has one more treat up its sleeve. Until January 6, Tomb Raider: Game of the Year Edition, Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition will all available for free to anyone with an Epic Games account.

The Epic Games Store giving out free games is nothing new as it does so every week, but this final gift in 2021 is something special as it offers the complete Tomb Raider reboot trilogy to anyone with an Epic Games Account. No strings attached.

By looking at the current prices listed on the Epic Games Store for these games, you are looking at a savings of $90 by adding these to your collection this way.

The offer ends on January 6 at 11am, so head to the store before then if you wish to try out the highly regarded trilogy that brought Lara Croft back to modern consoles beginning in 2013.

In our Tomb Raider review, we said that it "is a superb action game that brings a new emotional dimension to one of gaming's most enduring icons, and repositions her alongside Nathan Drake at the top of gaming's action-hero heirarchy."

In our Rise of the Tomb Raider review, we said, "once again it’s Lara herself, however, who steals the show, her complex ambitions and hardened resolve showing new sides to a character who has well and truly grown from survivor to the most fascinating action hero in video games today."

In our Shadow of the Tomb Raider review, we said, "with a story that manages to satisfactorily tread the line between high-concept fun and grounded character exploration, Shadow of the Tomb Raider meaningfully wraps up the journey Lara began in 2013 and convincingly leaves her in a place resembling where she was when we were first introduced to her more than 20 years ago."

If you have yet to play them, this will also give you a chance to catch up before Crystal Dynamics' next, currently unannounced Tomb Raider game that will see the studio "working to unify" the timelines of Core Design's original games and its own reboot trilogy that began in 2013.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.