When NASA or a private agency captures images from satellites, they can show us long-term trends, like a decline in a lake's water levels, or bizarre, widespread weather events. But when it comes to other features, a slightly different angle could reveal even more – like buildings or mountain peaks.

That's exactly what Robert Simmon did in a recent Medium post. Using SkySat's satellite sensors from Planet Labs, the company was able to capture images of cities and natural wonders that don't look directly down from above; rather, they tilt the angle slightly to show us things like height and depth.

This method "offers greater flexibility in showcasing the planet from all its glorious angles," said Simmon.

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(PHOTOS: Winners of the Smithsonian's Annual Photo Contest Announced)

Simmon, who previously worked for NASA as a data visualizer and created the image of Earth that previously graced our iPhone backgrounds, now works for Planet Labs, the company that owns the satellites used to capture the incredible images in the gallery above.

These images can provide us extra context about the world in which we live, but aside from that, they're just plain cool.

Be sure to peruse the images in the gallery, and to see even more of Simmon's photos, be sure to check out his post on Medium.