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Columbia of Johnson Space Center (JSC) from 1993 and 05-06-1993
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STS-55 Earth observation of
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STS-55 Earth observation of a thunderstorm over the coast of Nigeria |
| Description |
STS-55 Earth observation taken aboard Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102, shows a 30-mile-wide thunderstorm (tops estimated near 45,000 feet). It was photographed by the STS-55 crew from an altitude of 162 nautical miles over the coast of Nigeria, 05-02-93, at 11 hours, 13 minutes, 34 seconds GMT (near noon, local time). A Meteosat view taken at almost exactly the same time allows us to pinpoint the location of the storm but does not show any of the detail evident in the Shuttle photograph. This huge thunderstorm was in the early stages of formation, as can been seen by the intense turbulence in the cauliflower shape of the top. Two major updrafts can be seen as the rose-shaped regions in the cloud tops. An easterly wave in the low levels of the atmosphere created a line of instability, which, together with an ample supply of moisture from the warm waters of the Gulf of Guinea and solar heating over the coast throughout the morning, caused this megastorm to occur. North is to the left |
| Date |
05.06.1993 |
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STS-55 Earth observation of
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STS-55 Earth observation of Altiplano ash/dust plume in Argentina |
| Description |
STS-55 Earth observation taken from Columbia, Orbiter Vehicle (OV) 102, shows several plumes of blowing material over northern Argentina. All plumes originate downwind of the recent volcanic eruption of Lascar Volcano (just over the border in northern Chile). It seems most likely, therefore, that the blown material is dust-sized particles of ash that was deposited on the high Andean plateau by Lascar during the eruption of 04-20-93. The large, dense, V-shaped plume in this frame is about 40 kilometers long. It is blowing eastwards from a point about 100 km southeast of Lascar. On 05-10-93, images from the AVHRR sensor on the environmental satellite NOAA-11 showed the dust from these parts of Altiplano reaching the lowlands hundreds of kilometers to the east. This photo was recorded on 05-04-93 at 19 hours 10 minutes 38 seconds GMT. |
| Date |
05.06.1993 |
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