Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Title:
Swirls of Lace
Original Caption Released with Image:
These MISR nadir-camera images from April 23, 2000 (Terra orbit 1855) and May 9, 2000 (Terra orbit 2088) show cloud swirls, like delicate lace, forming patterns known as von Karman vortex streets. The turbulent atmospheric eddies form in the wake of an obstacle, in this instance the 1050-meter-high summit on the island of Socorro, Mexico. The surrounding clouds make the vortex patterns visible. To the northeast, much subtler disturbances are associated with the tiny Isla San Benedicto. Both islands are part of a group known as the Revillagigedo Archipelago, and are located about 400 kilometers equatorward of the southern tip of Baja California.

Each of these images is approximately 180 kilometers wide and 350 kilometers long. The von Karman vortices are named for aerodynamicist Theodore von Karman, one of the founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.
Other Information:
Image Credit:
NASA/GSFC/JPL, MISR Team
Produced By:
JPL
Mission:
Earth Observing System (EOS)
Spacecraft:
Terra
Target Name:
Earth
Is a satellite of:
Sol (our sun)
Instrument:
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR)
Product Size:
1349 samples x 1277 lines
Primary Data Set:
Earth Observing System (EOS)
facet_what:
Sun
facet_what:
Earth
facet_what:
Terra
facet_what:
Earth Observing System
facet_what:
EOS
facet_what:
MISR
facet_what:
LACE
facet_what:
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR)
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
facet_where:
California
facet_where:
Washington
facet_where:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where:
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_when:
April 23, 2000
facet_when:
May 9, 2000
facet_when_year:
2000
Image #:
PIA02648
UID:
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA02648
orignial url:

Swirls of Lace