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Saharan Dust Cloud Sails Tow
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PIA03539
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Saharan Dust Cloud Sails Toward U.S. |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
A huge dust cloud blown westward from the Algerian desert is now wafting over the southeastern United States. The cloud, about the size of the entire continent, was expected to produce dramatic sunsets and possibly a light coating of red-brown dust on vehicles from Florida to Texas. This image, captured by JPL's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) aboard the NASA Earth Observing System's Terra Satellite on July 20, 2005, shows the dust cloud just off the west coast of Africa near Mauritania and Senegal. The image covers about 1,800 kilometers (1,200 miles) north-south, and 400 kilometers (260 miles) east-west. MISR, which views Earth at nine different angles in four wavelengths, can derive the amount, size and shape of airborne particles. This means it can distinguish desert dust, by far the most common non-spherical atmospheric aerosol, from pollution and forest fire particles, which are typically spherical. This image was taken by MISR's 26 degree forward-viewing camera on Terra Orbit 29724, Path 208, Blocks 69-81. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer [ http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/ ] observes the daylit Earth continuously from pole to pole, and the entire globe about once per week. 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. |
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ASTER Washington, D.C.
PIA02655
Sol (our sun)
ASTER
| Title |
ASTER Washington, D.C. |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The White House, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Washington Monument with its shadow are all visible in this image of Washington, D.C. With its 15-meter spatial resolution, ASTER can see individual buildings. Taken on June 1, 2000, this image covers an area 14 kilometers (8.5 miles) wide and 13.7 kilometers (8.2 miles) long in three bands of the reflected visible and infrared wavelength region. The combination of visible and near infrared bands displays vegetation in red and water in dark grays. The Potomac River flows from the middle left to the bottom center. The large red area west of the river is Arlington National Cemetery. Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products. Dr. Anne Kahle at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, is the U.S. science team leader, Moshe Pniel of JPL is the project manager. ASTER is the only high-resolution imaging sensor on Terra. The primary goal of the ASTER mission is to obtain high-resolution image data in 14 channels over the entire land surface, as well as black and white stereo images. With revisit time of between 4 and 16 days, ASTER will provide the capability for repeat coverage of changing areas on Earth's surface. The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER will provide scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping and monitoring dynamic conditions and temporal change. Examples of applications include monitoring glacial advances and retreats, potentially active volcanoes, thermal pollution, and coral reef degradation, identifying crop stress, determining cloud morphology and physical properties, evaluating wetlands, mapping surface temperature of soils and geology, and measuring surface heat balance. |
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ASTER-SRTM Perspective of Mo
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PIA02771
Sol (our sun)
ASTER, C-Band Interferometri
…
| Title |
ASTER-SRTM Perspective of Mount Oyama Volcano, Miyake-Jima Island, Japan |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Mount Oyama is a 820-meter-high (2,700 feet) volcano on the island of Miyake-Jima, Japan. In late June 2000, a series of earthquakes alerted scientists to possible volcanic activity. On June 27, authorities evacuated 2,600 people, and on July 8 the volcano began erupting and erupted five times over that week. The dark gray blanket covering green vegetation in the image is the ash deposited by prevailing northeasterly winds between July 8 and 17. This island is about 180 kilometers (110 miles) south of Tokyo and is part of the Izu chain of volcanic islands that runs south from the main Japanese island of Honshu. Miyake-Jima is home to 3,800 people. The previous major eruptions of Mount Oyama occurred in 1983 and 1962, when lava flows destroyed hundreds of houses. An earlier eruption in 1940 killed 11 people. This image is a perspective view created by combining image data from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) aboard NASA's Terra satellite with an elevation model from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). Vertical relief is exaggerated, and the image includes cosmetic adjustments to clouds and image color to enhance clarity of terrain features. The ASTER instrument is a cooperative project between NASA, JPL, and the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry. Elevation data used in this image was acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on February 11,2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect three-dimensional measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter-long (200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense(DoD), and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise,Washington, DC. Size: Island is approximately 8 kilometers (5 miles) in diameter Location: 34.1 deg. North lat., 139.5 deg. East lon. Orientation: View toward the west-southwest. Image Data: ASTER visible and near infrared Date Acquired: February 20, 2000 (SRTM), July 17, 2000 (ASTER) Image: NASA/JPL/NIMA/MITI |
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Tsunami Inundation, North of
…
PIA06671
Sol (our sun)
ASTER, SIR-C/X-SAR
| Title |
Tsunami Inundation, North of Phuket, Thailand ASTER Images and SRTM Elevation Model |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Figure 1 The Indian Ocean coastline north of Phuket, Thailand is a major tourist destination that was in the path of the tsunami produced by a giant offshore earthquake on December 26, 2004. This disaster resulted in a heavy loss of life. These simulated natural color ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) images show a 27 kilometer (17-mile) long stretch of coast 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the Phuket airport in the Khao Lak area on December 31 (middle) and also two years earlier (left). The changes along the coast are obvious (changing from green to grey) where the vegetation was stripped away by the tsunami. The image on the right is a copy of the later ASTER scene but it includes highlighting in red for areas that have elevations within 10 meters (33 feet) of sea level. This elevation information was supplied by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). The red areas appear to include most of the tsunami inundated areas. The geographic correspondence of the imaged damage and the highlighted elevation range is quite good in the middle and upper parts of the scene and is consistent with an early field report of about 10 meters of inundation. In the south, the elevation range corresponds to a much wider area than the actual damage, but this is to be expected for areas increasingly far from the coast. Offshore bathymetry (depth variations), coastal landforms, distance from the coast, and additional factors other than elevation range control the damage extent. But elevation measurements along the coast, as provided by SRTM, give a general indication of areas at risk, as now confirmed by ASTER. ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet with its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet). These data provide scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping, and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats, monitoring potentially active volcanoes, identifying crop stress, determining cloud morphology and physical properties, wetlands evaluation, thermal pollution monitoring, coral reef degradation, surface temperature mapping of soils and geology, and measuring surface heat balance. ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products. The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Elevation data used in this image were acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour,, launched on February 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect three-dimensional measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter-long (200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. Size: 9.75 x 27.6 kilometers (6.0 x 17.1 miles), Location: 8.6 degrees North latitude, 98.3 degrees East longitude Orientation: Top is 8.25 degrees east of North Image Data: ASTER Bands 1, 2, 3 mixed for simulated true color. Date Acquired: November 15, 2002 and December 31, 2004 (ASTER), February 2000 (SRTM) |
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Tsunami Inundation, North of
…
PIA06671
Sol (our sun)
ASTER, SIR-C/X-SAR
| Title |
Tsunami Inundation, North of Phuket, Thailand ASTER Images and SRTM Elevation Model |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Figure 1 The Indian Ocean coastline north of Phuket, Thailand is a major tourist destination that was in the path of the tsunami produced by a giant offshore earthquake on December 26, 2004. This disaster resulted in a heavy loss of life. These simulated natural color ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) images show a 27 kilometer (17-mile) long stretch of coast 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of the Phuket airport in the Khao Lak area on December 31 (middle) and also two years earlier (left). The changes along the coast are obvious (changing from green to grey) where the vegetation was stripped away by the tsunami. The image on the right is a copy of the later ASTER scene but it includes highlighting in red for areas that have elevations within 10 meters (33 feet) of sea level. This elevation information was supplied by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). The red areas appear to include most of the tsunami inundated areas. The geographic correspondence of the imaged damage and the highlighted elevation range is quite good in the middle and upper parts of the scene and is consistent with an early field report of about 10 meters of inundation. In the south, the elevation range corresponds to a much wider area than the actual damage, but this is to be expected for areas increasingly far from the coast. Offshore bathymetry (depth variations), coastal landforms, distance from the coast, and additional factors other than elevation range control the damage extent. But elevation measurements along the coast, as provided by SRTM, give a general indication of areas at risk, as now confirmed by ASTER. ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet with its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet). These data provide scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping, and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats, monitoring potentially active volcanoes, identifying crop stress, determining cloud morphology and physical properties, wetlands evaluation, thermal pollution monitoring, coral reef degradation, surface temperature mapping of soils and geology, and measuring surface heat balance. ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18, 1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the data products. The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. Elevation data used in this image were acquired by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour,, launched on February 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect three-dimensional measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter-long (200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. Size: 9.75 x 27.6 kilometers (6.0 x 17.1 miles), Location: 8.6 degrees North latitude, 98.3 degrees East longitude Orientation: Top is 8.25 degrees east of North Image Data: ASTER Bands 1, 2, 3 mixed for simulated true color. Date Acquired: November 15, 2002 and December 31, 2004 (ASTER), February 2000 (SRTM) |
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Perspective View, Mt. Etna,
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PIA03370
Sol (our sun)
ASTER, C-Band Interferometri
…
| Title |
Perspective View, Mt. Etna, Italy & the Aeolian Islands |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Italy's Mount Etna and the Aeolian Islands are the focus of this perspective view made from an Advanced Spaceborne Thermal and Emission Radiometer (ASTER) image from NASA's Terra spacecraft overlaid on Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) topography. The image is looking south with the islands of Lipari and Vulcano in the foreground and Etna with its dark lava flows on the skyline. Vulcano also hosts an active volcano, the cone of which is prominent. In late October 2002, Etna erupted again, sending lava flows down the north and south sides of the volcano. The north flows are near the center of this view, but the ASTER image is from before the eruption. In addition to the terrestrial applications of these data for understanding active volcanoes and hazards associated with them such as lava flows and explosive eruptions, geologists studying Mars find these data useful as an analog to martian landforms and geologic processes. In late September 2002, a field conference with the theme of Terrestrial Analogs to Mars focused on Mount Etna allowing Mars geologists to see in person the types of features they can only sample remotely. Elevation data used in this image was acquired by SRTM aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on Feb. 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect 3-D measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter (approximately 200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between NASA, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, D.C. Size: Varies across scene Location: 38.25 degrees North latitude, 15 degrees East longitude Orientation: Looking south Image Data: ASTER bands 2, 3, 1 as red, green, blue, respectively. Original Data Resolution: SRTM 1 arc-second (30 meters or 98 feet) Date Acquired: February 2000 (SRTM), July 29, 2001 (ASTER) |
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Perspective View, Mt. Etna,
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PIA03371
Sol (our sun)
ASTER, C-Band Interferometri
…
| Title |
Perspective View, Mt. Etna, Italy |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Italy's Mount Etna is the focus of this perspective view made from an Advanced Spaceborne Thermal and Emission Radiometer (ASTER) image from NASA's Terra spacecraft overlaid on Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) topography. The image is looking south with dark lava flows from the 1600's (center) to 1981 (long flow at lower right) visible in the foreground and the summit of Etna above. The city of Catania is barely visible behind Etna on the bay at the upper left. In late October 2002, Etna erupted again, sending lava flows down the north and south sides of the volcano. The north flows are near the center of this view, but the ASTER image is from before the eruption. In addition to the terrestrial applications of these data for understanding active volcanoes and hazards associated with them such as lava flows and explosive eruptions, geologists studying Mars find these data useful as an analog to martian landforms and geologic processes. In late September 2002, a field conference with the theme of Terrestrial Analogs to Mars focused on Mount Etna, allowing Mars geologists to see in person the types of features they can only sample remotely. Elevation data used in this image was acquired by SRTM aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on Feb. 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was designed to collect 3-D measurements of the Earth's surface. To collect the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter (approximately 200-foot) mast, installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking and navigation devices. The mission is a cooperative project between NASA, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) of the U.S. Department of Defense and the German and Italian space agencies. It is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, Washington, D.C. Size: Varies across scene Location: 38 degrees North latitude, 15.5 degrees East longitude Orientation: Looking south Image Data: ASTER bands 2, 3, 1 as red, green, blue, respectively. Original Data Resolution: SRTM 1 arc-second (30 meters or 98 feet) Date Acquired: February 2000 (SRTM), July 29, 2001 (ASTER) |
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MISR Images Northeastern Bot
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PIA02620
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR Images Northeastern Botswana |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MISR images of the Ntwetwe and Sua Pans in northeastern Botswana, acquired on August 18, 2000 (Terra orbit 3553). The left image is a color view from the vertical-viewing (nadir) camera. On the right is a composite of red band imagery in which the 45-degree aft camera data are displayed in blue, 45-degree forward as green, and vertical as red. This combination causes wet areas to appear blue because of the glint-like reflection from water and damp surfaces. Clouds are visible in the upper left corner and right center of each image. The clouds look peculiar in the multi-angle view because geometric parallax resulting from their elevation above the surface causes a misregistration of the individual images making up the composite. This stereoscopic effect provides a way of distinguishing clouds from bright surfaces. The images are approximately 250 kilometers across. Ntwetwe and Sua pans are closed interior basins that catch rainwater and surface runoff during the wet season. Seasonal lakes form that may reach several meters in depth. During the dry season the collected waters rapidly evaporate leaving behind dissolved salts that coat the surface and turn it bright ("sua" means salt). The mining town of Sowa is located where the Sua Spit (a finger of grassland extending into the pan) attaches to the shore. Sowa represents headquarters for a JPL contingent carrying out MISR field experiments using the evaporite surface and the grasslands as targets and for Botswana scientists studying migration of groundwaters beneath the pans and surrounding areas. These efforts support the Southern Africa Regional Science Initiative (SAFARI-2000), which is now underway. 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. For more information: http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov |
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Smoke Plume Dispersal from t
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PIA04388
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Smoke Plume Dispersal from the World Trade Center Disaster |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Click on image for full-size version The collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and the fires that followed produced a noxious smoke plume, a complex mixture of tiny airborne particles and gases. Determining where humans may have been exposed to these contaminants and the amount of their exposure is very difficult. But recently, scientists from the Environmental and Occupational Health Science Institute Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers University, in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have created a detailed numerical model that shows the pollutant dispersion from "Ground Zero" to the surrounding New York - New Jersey region. Air pollution in the urban atmosphere can damage human health, biological systems, and vegetation. A team of science assessment experts is using this new computer model to analyze the environmental and health impacts of this extreme event. For example, researchers are using model results in studies of the birth weights of infants whose mothers were near the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, when they were pregnant and of the incidence of asthma during the first weeks after the attack. The model helps them estimate human exposure levels based on where the plume was located, how much material it contained, and how long it remained. To map the path of the plume of pollution from the World Trade Center, the researchers used mathematical models of micrometeorological atmospheric circulation and tracer transport, surface measurements, and space-based observations from the high-resolution Landsat imager and the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) on NASA's Terra satellite. While some airborne material circulated within the urban "canyons," much of the material was lifted above the buildings and transported great distances. As a result, surface level exposures were not as frequent and intense as they could have been under different meteorological conditions. To simulate the transport of pollutants in the plume, the researchers had to understand its behavior on scales ranging from tens of meters to several hundred kilometers. They calculated atmospheric motions using a multi-grid regional atmospheric modeling system covering scales from 250 meters to 300 kilometers. To calculate pollutant transport, they used a hybrid particle and concentration transport model. They evaluated their model's simulated pollutant concentrations, transport, direction, and timing, by comparing the results with fine-scale aerosol measurements routinely acquired from the roofs of New York City public school buildings. The researchers calculated the evolution of the plume using a "Lagrangian" transport model, which considers the plume to be a collection of parcels that flow downwind. They found that for the model results to match the observations, the peak aerosol emissions in the World Trade Center fire must reach about 35 to 350 kg of, particles per hour -- thus, the concentration of aerosols within the core of the WTC plume was higher than the routine aerosol pollution in the world's most polluted cities. Since wind speed and direction can change dramatically at different levels in the atmosphere, knowing the height of the aerosol plume was a crucial part of ensuring that the model produced realistic results. JPL scientists used stereo images of the region acquired by the MISR instrument at about noon on September 12, 2001, combined with ground-based photographs of the plume, to determine the plume height. A natural color MISR image appears here (acquired by MISR's 70º forward-viewing camera on September 12) along with histograms of stereo-derived elevations at four points (P1, P2, P3, P4) progressing from the World Trade Center source to about 70 kilometers downwind. In addition to plume altitude and direction, MISR also provided information about plume evolution. Researchers could trace the plume's development by comparing the combination of airborne particles observed near the plume's source with particles that appear downwind in this MISR snapshot. The researchers also use MISR observations to check how well their model estimates the amount of particulate material the plume contained. The scientists published their findings in the July issue of the journal Environmental Fluid Mechanics. The full citation is: Stenchikov, G., N. Lahoti, D.J. Diner, R. Kahn, P. Lioy, and P. Georgopoulos (2006). Multiscale plume transport from the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Environmental Fluid Mech., doi 10.1007/s10652-006-9001-8. 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. |
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Smoke Plume Dispersal from t
…
PIA04388
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Smoke Plume Dispersal from the World Trade Center Disaster |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Click on image for full-size version The collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, and the fires that followed produced a noxious smoke plume, a complex mixture of tiny airborne particles and gases. Determining where humans may have been exposed to these contaminants and the amount of their exposure is very difficult. But recently, scientists from the Environmental and Occupational Health Science Institute Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers University, in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have created a detailed numerical model that shows the pollutant dispersion from "Ground Zero" to the surrounding New York - New Jersey region. Air pollution in the urban atmosphere can damage human health, biological systems, and vegetation. A team of science assessment experts is using this new computer model to analyze the environmental and health impacts of this extreme event. For example, researchers are using model results in studies of the birth weights of infants whose mothers were near the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, when they were pregnant and of the incidence of asthma during the first weeks after the attack. The model helps them estimate human exposure levels based on where the plume was located, how much material it contained, and how long it remained. To map the path of the plume of pollution from the World Trade Center, the researchers used mathematical models of micrometeorological atmospheric circulation and tracer transport, surface measurements, and space-based observations from the high-resolution Landsat imager and the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) on NASA's Terra satellite. While some airborne material circulated within the urban "canyons," much of the material was lifted above the buildings and transported great distances. As a result, surface level exposures were not as frequent and intense as they could have been under different meteorological conditions. To simulate the transport of pollutants in the plume, the researchers had to understand its behavior on scales ranging from tens of meters to several hundred kilometers. They calculated atmospheric motions using a multi-grid regional atmospheric modeling system covering scales from 250 meters to 300 kilometers. To calculate pollutant transport, they used a hybrid particle and concentration transport model. They evaluated their model's simulated pollutant concentrations, transport, direction, and timing, by comparing the results with fine-scale aerosol measurements routinely acquired from the roofs of New York City public school buildings. The researchers calculated the evolution of the plume using a "Lagrangian" transport model, which considers the plume to be a collection of parcels that flow downwind. They found that for the model results to match the observations, the peak aerosol emissions in the World Trade Center fire must reach about 35 to 350 kg of, particles per hour -- thus, the concentration of aerosols within the core of the WTC plume was higher than the routine aerosol pollution in the world's most polluted cities. Since wind speed and direction can change dramatically at different levels in the atmosphere, knowing the height of the aerosol plume was a crucial part of ensuring that the model produced realistic results. JPL scientists used stereo images of the region acquired by the MISR instrument at about noon on September 12, 2001, combined with ground-based photographs of the plume, to determine the plume height. A natural color MISR image appears here (acquired by MISR's 70º forward-viewing camera on September 12) along with histograms of stereo-derived elevations at four points (P1, P2, P3, P4) progressing from the World Trade Center source to about 70 kilometers downwind. In addition to plume altitude and direction, MISR also provided information about plume evolution. Researchers could trace the plume's development by comparing the combination of airborne particles observed near the plume's source with particles that appear downwind in this MISR snapshot. The researchers also use MISR observations to check how well their model estimates the amount of particulate material the plume contained. The scientists published their findings in the July issue of the journal Environmental Fluid Mechanics. The full citation is: Stenchikov, G., N. Lahoti, D.J. Diner, R. Kahn, P. Lioy, and P. Georgopoulos (2006). Multiscale plume transport from the collapse of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Environmental Fluid Mech., doi 10.1007/s10652-006-9001-8. 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. |
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MISR Views a Fire-Scarred La
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PIA02622
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR Views a Fire-Scarred Landscape |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This MISR image pair shows "before and after" views of the area around the Hanford Nuclear Reservation near Richland, Washington. On June 27, 2000, a fire in the dry sagebrush was sparked by an automobile crash. The flames were fanned by hot summer winds. By the day after the accident, about 100,000 acres had burned, and the fire's spread forced the closure of highways and loss of homes. These images, from Terra orbits 2176 and 3341, were obtained by MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera. Compare the area just above and to the right of the line of cumulus clouds in the May 15 image with the same area imaged on August 3. The darkened burn scar measures approximately 35 kilometers across. The Columbia River is seen wending its way around the area, and the Snake River branches off to the right. According to Idaho's National Interagency Fire Center, the US has been experiencing the worst fire season since 1996. 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. |
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MISR Images Zambia and Botsw
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PIA02621
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR Images Zambia and Botswana |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
These MISR images of Zambia and Botswana, Africa were acquired on August 25, 2000 during Terra orbit 3655. The left image is a "true" color view from the vertical-viewing (nadir) camera. True color means that the images acquired through MISR's red, green, and blue filters, respectively, are displayed as red, green, and blue when creating the digital image. The middle image combines data from the green, red, and near-infrared bands. The right image contains red band data only, but is a composite of imagery from the nadir (An), 70.5-degrees forward (Df), and 70.5-degrees aftward (Da) cameras. The color variations in the multi-angle composite arise not from how the different parts of the scene reflect light at different wavelengths, but rather, at different angles. The distinctive fan-like feature on the left of each image is the highly vegetated Okavango Delta, a mosaiced network of grasslands and water channels, observed here during the dry season. The town of Maunis at its southeastern edge. Note how the plant life, which is highly reflective in the near-infrared, shows up as bright red in the middle image. Vegetation also preferentially reflects light back toward the source of illumination, so in the right image, the Df camera image, which is displayed in green, is brighter in this region. The body of water in the upper right is the Itezhi-Tezhi Dam, fed by the Kafue River in Zambia. At the lower left, south of the Okavango Delta, is Lake Ngami. A smoke plume is present at the southern edge of the lake. This plume and others show up in shades of blue and purple in the multi-angle composite as a result of the manner in which the smoke particles scatter sunlight. Other landmarks include the Ntwetwe Pan, whose western edge is visible as the bright area in the lower right. The Zambezi River enters from the upper left and wends its way southeast, passing the Caprivi Strip, a narrow panhandle in northeast Namibia. The greater abundance of vegetation here testifies to the high rainfall that occurs during the wet season. Near the right-hand edge of the images is the location where the Zambezi plunges into Victoria Falls, considered to be among the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. 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. |
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MISR Images Wildfires in Nor
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PIA02618
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR Images Wildfires in Northwestern US |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MISR image of smoke plumes from devastating wildfires in the northwestern US. This view of the Clearwater and Salmon River Mountains in Idaho was acquired on August 5, 2000 (Terra orbit 3370). The body of water to the left of image center is the Cascade Reservoir, located about 100 km north of Boise and 80 km east of the Snake River. North is at the top, and the image is approximately 380 km across. In addition to the huge plumes traversing the mountains in the northern part of the image, smoke accumulating in the lower elevation canyons and plains is visible. This image was generated using data from the MISR camera that looks forward at a steep angle (70.5 degrees). The smoke is far more visible when viewed at this highly oblique angle than it would be in a conventional, straight-downward view. In creating this color composite, data from the blue and green MISR bands, acquired at 1.1-km spatial resolution, were digitally "sharpened" using 275-m resolution data acquired in the red band. 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. For more information: http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov |
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MISR Views Northern Australi
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PIA02614
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR Views Northern Australia |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MISR images of tropical northern Australia acquired on June 1, 2000 (Terra orbit 2413) during the long dry season. Left: color composite of vertical (nadir) camera blue, green, and red band data. Right: multi-angle composite of red band data only from the cameras viewing 60 degrees aft, 60 degrees forward, and nadir. Color and contrast have been enhanced to accentuate subtle details. In the left image, color variations indicate how different parts of the scene reflect light differently at blue, green, and red wavelengths, in the right image color variations show how these same scene elements reflect light differently at different angles of view. Water appears in blue shades in the right image, for example, because glitter makes the water look brighter at the aft camera's view angle. The prominent inland water body is Lake Argyle, the largest human-made lake in Australia, which supplies water for the Ord River Irrigation Area and the town of Kununurra (pop. 6500) just to the north. At the top is the southern edge of Joseph Bonaparte Gulf, the major inlet at the left is Cambridge Gulf, the location of the town of Wyndham (pop. 850), the port for this region. This area is sparsely populated, and is known for its remote, spectacular mountains and gorges. Visible along much of the coastline are intertidal mudflats of mangroves and low shrubs, to the south the terrain is covered by open woodland merging into open grassland in the lower half of the pictures. 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. |
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MISR Views the Big Island of
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PIA02616
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR Views the Big Island of Hawaii |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MISR images of the Big Island of Hawaii. The images have been rotated so that north is at the left. Upper left: April 2, 2000 (Terra orbit 1551) Upper right: May 4, 2000 (Terra orbit 2017) Lower left: June 5, 2000 (Terra orbit 2483) Lower right: June 21, 2000 (Terra orbit 2716) The first three images are color views acquired by the vertical(nadir) camera. The last image is a stereo anaglyph generated from the aftward cameras viewing at 60.0 and 70.5 degree look angles. It requires red/blue glasses with the red filter over the left eye. The color images show the greater prevalence of vegetation on the eastern side of the island due to moisture brought in by the prevailing Pacific trade winds. The western (lee) side of the island is drier. In the center of the island, and poking through the clouds in the stereo image are the Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, each peaking at about 4.2 km above sea level. The southern face of a line of cumulus clouds off the north coast of Hawaii is also visible in the stereo image. 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. For more information: http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov |
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MISR Views Southern Californ
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PIA02617
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR Views Southern California |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MISR images of Southern California acquired on March 14, 2000 during Terra orbit 1273. North is at the top. The left image is a color composite generated using data from the blue, green, and red bands of the vertical (nadir) camera. The right image is a color composite using data from the green, red, and near-infrared bands from the same camera, in this view vegetation shows up clearly in shades of red. The distinctive chevron shape of the Mojave Desert is bordered by the San Andreas Fault on the south and the Garlock Fault on the north. To the northwest are the Sierra Nevada mountains and the agricultural fields of the San Joaquin valley. Santa Catalina and San Clement Islands, warmed by the morning sun, are visible through the marine stratus cloud layer, to their west at the edge of the cloud bank is San Nicolas Island, and further up the coast are the Channel Islands. The Los Angeles basin is just south of center, San Diego is at the bottom right-hand corner. 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. For more information: http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov |
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MISR View of Georgian Bay, O
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PIA02615
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR View of Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MISR images of the southeast portion of Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada, acquired on March 6, 2000, during Terra orbit 1155. The color image is from the nadir (vertical) camera, and highlights a cloud to the southwest of Christian Island. In this view, the shadow cast by the cloud on the water is visible just north of the cloud itself. Bright areas in the image are either cloud or ice, an example of the latter is the frozen Lake Simcoe. The eight monochrome images are red band data from the off-nadir cameras. Starting with the one in the upper right and moving counterclockwise, the images progress from the most forward-viewing to the most aftward-viewing camera. Thus, the top (bottom) row of monochrome images are views acquired forward (aftward) of vertical. The apparent displacement of the cloud from south to north as the view progresses from forward to aftward is primarily a geometric parallax effect due to the cloud's elevation above the surface. In each image in the top row, a fainter feature with the same shape as the cloud is visible within Georgian Bay. The feature and the cloud itself approach one another as the view angle becomes less oblique. The feature is present only in the water, and disappears over the land surface of Christian Island. What is it? We are observing reflections of the cloud in the water. Their positions are dictated by the law of reflection, which states that the angle relative to the vertical of the reflected rays is the same as the angle of the incident rays. Therefore, the apparent location of a reflection relative to the cloud changes as a function of camera view angle. Unlike water, land does not act as a good mirror. Also, in the aftward views the reflections are less visible because they are blocked by the southern extension of the cloud. Reflections of this sort are not visible in conventional vertical imagery because in that case they lie directly underneath the cloud, and are consequently obscured. 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. For more information: http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov |
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MISR Views Hurricane Carlott
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PIA02611
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR Views Hurricane Carlotta |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
With winds reaching 155 mph, this year's Hurricane Carlotta became the second strongest eastern Pacific June hurricane on record. These images from MISR show the hurricane on June 21, the day of its peak intensity. The pictures are oriented so that the spacecraft's flight path is from left to right, north is at the left. The top image is a color view from MISR's vertical (nadir) camera, showing Carlotta's location in the eastern Pacific Ocean, about 500 km south of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The middle image is a stereoscopic "anaglyph" created using MISR's nadir camera plus one of its aftward-viewing cameras, and shows a closer view of the area around the hurricane. Viewing with red/blue glasses (red filter over the left eye) is required to obtain a 3-D stereo effect. Near the center of the storm, the eye is about 25 km in diameter and partially obscured by a thin cloud. About 50 km to the left of the eye, the sharp drop-off from high-level to low-level cloud gives a sense of the vertical extent of the hidden eye wall. The low-level cloud is spiraling counterclockwise into the center of the cyclone. It then rises in the vicinity of the eye wall and emerges with a clockwise rotation at high altitude. Maximum surface winds are found near the eye wall. The bottom stereo image is a zoomed-in view of convective clouds in the hurricane's spiral arms. The arms are breeding grounds for severe thunderstorms, with associated heavy rain and flooding, frequent lightning, and tornadoes. Thunderstorms rise in dramatic fashion to about the same altitude as the high cloud near the hurricane's center, and are made up of individual cells that are typically less than 20 km in diameter. This image shows a number of these cells, some fairly isolated, and others connected together. Their three-dimensional structure is clearly apparent in this stereo view. 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. For more information: http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov |
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MISR Images Forest Fires and
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PIA02619
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR Images Forest Fires and Hurricane |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
These images show forest fires raging in Montana and Hurricane Hector swirling in the Pacific. These two unrelated, large-scale examples of nature's fury were captured by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer(MISR) during a single orbit of NASA's Terra satellite on August 14, 2000. In the left image, huge smoke plumes rise from devastating wildfires in the Bitterroot Mountain Range near the Montana-Idaho border. Flathead Lake is near the upper left, and the Great Salt Lake is at the bottom right. Smoke accumulating in the canyons and plains is also visible. This image was generated from the MISR camera that looks forward at a steep angle (60 degrees), the instrument has nine different cameras viewing Earth at different angles. The smoke is far more visible when seen at this highly oblique angle than it would be in a conventional, straight-downward (nadir)view. The wide extent of the smoke is evident from comparison with the image on the right, a view of Hurricane Hector acquired from MISR's nadir-viewing camera. Both images show an area of approximately 400 kilometers (250 miles)in width and about 850 kilometers (530 miles) in length. When this image of Hector was taken, the eastern Pacific tropical cyclone was located approximately 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) west of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. The eye is faintly visible and measures 25 kilometers (16 miles) in diameter. The storm was beginning to weaken, and 24hours later the National Weather Service downgraded Hector from a hurricane to a tropical storm. 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. For more information: http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov |
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Hurricane Jeanne Cloud Heigh
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PIA04368
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Hurricane Jeanne Cloud Height and Motion |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
After causing widespread destruction on Puerto Rico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Hurricane Jeanne was weakened to Tropical Storm status for several days before it regained strength over the Bahamas as a Category 2 hurricane. When Jeanne made landfall in U.S. territory on September 26 it was the fourth major hurricane of the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season to strike Florida. These visualizations of Hurricane Jeanne on September 24 were captured by NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR). The still panels include a natural color view from MISR's 26-degree forward-viewing camera (left) and a two dimensional map of cloud-top heights (right). In addition, a "multi-angle fly-over" is provided as an animation using views from all nine MISR cameras. The nine camera views which make up the animation have been processed to give an approximate perspective view. The animation makes visible the relative heights of clouds within the scene. Some of the real cloud motion over the seven minutes during which all nine MISR cameras observed the scene are also indicated by the animation. The cloud height map was produced by automated computer recognition of the distinctive spatial features between images acquired at different view angles. Two-dimensional maps of cloud height such as these offer an opportunity to compare simulated cloud fields against actual hurricane observations. Results indicate that clouds within Jeanne had attained altitudes of more than 16 kilometers above sea level. The height field pictured here is uncorrected for the effects of cloud motion. Wind-corrected heights have higher accuracy but sparser spatial coverage. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82° north and 82° south latitude. These data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 25372. The still image panels cover an area of about 400 kilometers x 884 kilometers, and utilize data from within blocks 68 to 71 and within World Reference System-2 path 10. 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 Technolog |
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Tracking Hurricane Wilma Acr
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PIA04386
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Tracking Hurricane Wilma Across the Caribbean |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Information on cloud top heights at different stages in the life cycle of the rapidly intensifying Hurricane Wilma may prove useful for evaluating the ability of numerical weather models to predict the intensity changes of hurricanes. NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) acquired this sequence of images and cloud-top height observations for Hurricane Wilma as it progressed across the Caribbean in October 2005. Each pair in the sequence has a photo-like view of the storm on the left and a matching color-coded image of cloud-top height on the right. Cloud-top heights range from 0 (purple) to 18 (red) kilometers altitude. Areas where cloud heights could not be determined are shown in dark gray. The pair on the left show Wilma on Tuesday, October 18, when Hurricane watches were posted for Cuba and Mexico. The central pair shows the eye of Hurricane Wilma just hours before the storm began to cross the Yucatan Peninsula on Friday, October 21. At that time, Wilma was a powerful Category 4 Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, and had a minimum recorded central pressure of 930 millibars. Hurricane Wilma surged from tropical storm to Category 5 hurricane status in record time, but the storm slowed and weakened considerably after battering Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and the Caribbean. The right-hand image pair displays the eastern edges of a weakened Wilma, when Wilma had been reduced to Category 2 status and was just starting to reach southern Florida on the morning of Sunday, October 23. Wilma gathered speed and strengthened on Sunday night, crossing Florida as a Category 3 storm on Monday, October 24. On the 18th, Wilma looked a bit ragged. Its eye is located at the center of the left edge, and its outer bands of clouds appear to be dominated by a rather loose collection of thunderstorms. In the photo-like images, these look like areas of "boiling clouds," and in the cloud-height image, these appear as orange blobs, sometimes topped with pinkish-red. On October 21 (center), when Wilma was a Category 4 storm, cloud-top height on the eastern side of the storm near the eye reached 18 kilometers in altitude, with lower heights on the western side. The image from the 23rd shows the eastern edge of Wilma as it approached Florida (upper right) and Cuba (center right). MISR has nine different cameras which view the Earth from a variety of angles. Shifts in the clouds' apparent position from one camera's perspective to another's allows MISR to measure the height of the cloud-tops. MISR scientists have programmed computers to compare the different views, identify features that appear to shift from view to view, and use that information to calculate cloud height automatically. The height fields pictured have not been corrected for the effects of cloud motion. Wind-corrected heights (which have higher accuracy but sparser spatial coverage) are within about 1 kilometer of the heights shown here. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer, observes the daylit Earth continuously, viewing the entire globe between 82° north and 82° south latitude every nine days. Each image covers an area of about 380 kilometers by 1830 kilometers. The data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbits 31037, 31081 and 31110, and utilize data from within blocks 68-83 within World Reference System-2 paths 13, 16 and 18, respectively. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology. |
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Hurricane Lili Heads for Lou
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PIA03728
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Hurricane Lili Heads for Louisiana Landfall |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Characteristics of a strengthening Category 3 Hurricane Lili are apparent in these images from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer(MISR), including a well-developed clearing at the hurricane eye. When these views were acquired on October 2, 2002, Lili was approaching the Gulf coast of the United States and rapidly strengthening toward Category 4 status. The storm's power reached its peak less than twelve hours later, and although it weakened overnight, this was still a dangerous system as it blew across the Louisiana coast on the morning of October 3. Lili was the first hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Hurricane Irene in 1999. Twenty-eight parishes in Louisiana were declared disaster areas, yet this hurricane fortunately caused much less damage than what could have resulted from an event of this magnitude. The top panel uses data from MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera and data from the red, near-infrared, and blue spectral bands is displayed as red, green and blue to create a false-color view in which land surfaces appear bright green. The nadir and stereo anaglyph views are identical in their band choices, except that the anaglyph uses data from the 26-degree forward-viewing camera for the red band. The images are oriented with north to the left. Observing the spectacular three-dimensional structure of the hurricane eyewall and of convective thunderclouds present in the storm's spiral arms requires the use of red-blue glasses, with the red filter placed over your left eye. Information on ordering glasses can be found here [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/Help/VendorList.html#Glasses ]. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously from pole to pole, and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. These data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 14844. The panels cover an area of about 380 kilometers x 985 kilometers, and utilize data from blocks 67 to 73within World Reference System-2 path 21. 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. |
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MISR Views Delaware Bay, Che
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PIA02609
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR Views Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay, and the Appalachian Mountains |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) images of Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay, and the Appalachian Mountains acquired on March 24, 2000 during Terra orbit 1417. The large image on the right was taken by the MISR camera viewing straight down (nadir). The series of smaller images, from top to bottom, respectively, were taken by cameras viewing 70.5 degrees forward, 45.6 degrees forward, 45.6 degrees aftward, and 70.5 degrees aftward of nadir. These images cover the environs of Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Richmond. Differences in brightness, color, and contrast as a function of view angle are visible over both land and water. Scientists are using MISR data to monitor changes in clouds, Earth's surface, and pollution particles in the air, and to assess their impact on climate. North is toward the top. 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. For more information: http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov |
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Nicaraguan Volcanoes, 26 Feb
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PIA02600
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Nicaraguan Volcanoes, 26 February 2000 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The true-color image at left is a downward-looking (nadir) view of the area around the San Cristobal volcano, which erupted the previous day. This image is oriented with east at the top and north at the left. The right image is a stereo anaglyph of the same area, created from red band multi-angle data taken by the 45.6-degree aftward and 70.5-degree aftward cameras on the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite. View this image through red/blue 3D glasses, with the red filter over the left eye. A plume from San Cristobal (approximately at image center) is much easier to see in the anaglyph, due to 3 effects: the long viewing path through the atmosphere at the oblique angles, the reduced reflection from the underlying water, and the 3D stereoscopic height separation. In this image, the plume floats between the surface and the overlying cumulus clouds. A second plume is also visible in the upper right (southeast of San Cristobal). This very thin plume may originate from the Masaya volcano, which is continually degassing at as low rate. The spatial resolution is 275 meters (300 yards). 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. |
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Multi-Angle View of the Cana
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PIA02602
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Multi-Angle View of the Canary Islands |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
A multi-angle view of the Canary Islands in a dust storm, 29 February 2000. At left is a true-color image taken by the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite. This image was captured by the MISR camera looking at a 70.5-degree angle to the surface, ahead of the spacecraft. The middle image was taken by the MISR downward-looking (nadir) camera, and the right image is from the aftward 70.5-degree camera. The images are reproduced using the same radiometric scale, so variations in brightness, color, and contrast represent true variations in surface and atmospheric reflectance with angle. Windblown dust from the Sahara Desert is apparent in all three images, and is much brighter in the oblique views. This illustrates how MISR's oblique imaging capability makes the instrument a sensitive detector of dust and other particles in the atmosphere. Data for all channels are presented in a Space Oblique Mercator map projection to facilitate their co-registration. The images are about 400 km (250 miles)wide, with a spatial resolution of about 1.1 kilometers (1,200 yards). North is toward the top. 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. |
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Dust Shrouds the Eastern Med
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PIA03731
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Dust Shrouds the Eastern Mediterranean |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
On October 18, 2002, a large dust plume extended across countries bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Information on the horizontal and vertical extent of the dust are provided by these views from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR). The left-hand panel portrays the scene as viewed by the instrument's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera. Here only some of the dust over eastern Syria and southeastern Turkey can be discerned. The dust is much more obvious in the center panel, which is a view from MISR's most steeply forward-looking camera. In addition, this perspective makes shadows cast by clouds onto the dust layer more apparent, providing a visual clue that the dust is at a lower altitude than these clouds. The right-hand panel is an elevation field derived from automated MISR stereoscopic processing, in which the heights of clouds and certain parts of the dust plume are retrieved. Because the stereoscopic approach makes use of features within the images that exhibit spatial contrast, heights for much of the dust plume (as well as the ocean surface) could not be retrieved, and these areas are shown in dark gray. Clouds within the image area are situated between about 2 and 5.5 kilometers above sea level, and the dust is located below most of the cloud, at heights of about 1.5 kilometers or less. When the stereo retrieval determines that a location is at a near-surface altitude, digital terrain elevation data are displayed instead. The highest clouds in this scene appear as the orange and red areas, and mountainous regions are displayed in light blue and green. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously from pole to pole, and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. These data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 15072. The panels cover an area of about 380 kilometers x 827 kilometers, and utilize data from blocks 58 to 65 within World Reference System-2 path 174. 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. |
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MISR Views Florida
PIA02610
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR Views Florida |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) images of Florida acquired on April 9, 2000 during Terra orbit 1650. The image at the top is a color view acquired by the vertical (nadir) camera. It has been reoriented so that the flight path is from left to right, to facilitate comparison with the lower image, a stereo "anaglyph" generated using 275-m resolution red band data from the cameras viewing 45.6 degrees and 70.5 degrees aft of nadir. The anaglyph provides a three-dimensional effect when viewed using red/blue glasses with the red filter placed over the left eye. This stereoscopic "depth perception" and the variation in brightness as a function of view angle enables scientists to assess the climate impact of different types of cloud fields. The plume from a large brush fire that burned about 15,000 acres is visible at the western edge of the Big Cypress Swamp in southern Florida. East is toward the top. 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. For more information: http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov |
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Multi-Angle Views of the App
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PIA02601
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Multi-Angle Views of the Appalachian Mountains, 6 March 2000 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The true-color image at left is a downward-looking (nadir) view of the eastern United States, stretching from Lake Ontario to northern Georgia, and spanning the Appalachian Mountains. The three images to the right are also in true-color, taken by the forward 45.6-degree, 60.0-degree, and 70.5-degree cameras, respectively, of the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite. As the slant angle increases, the line-of-sight through the atmosphere grows longer, and a pall of haze over the Appalachians becomes progressively more apparent. You can see a similar effect by scanning from near-nadir to the horizon when standing on a mountain top or looking out an airplane window. MISR uses this multi-angle technique to monitor particulate pollution and to distinguish different types of haze. These observations reveal how airborne particles are interacting with sunlight, a measure of their impact on Earth's climate system. The images are about 400 km (250 miles) wide, and the spatial resolution is 1.1 kilometers (1,200 yards). North is toward the top. 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. |
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Multi-angle Images of Hudson
…
PIA02603
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Multi-angle Images of Hudson Bay and James Bay, Canada, 24 February 2000 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
At left is a true-color image from the downward-looking (nadir)camera on the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on NASA's Terra satellite. The false-color image at right is a composite of red band data taken by the MISR forward 45.6-degree, nadir, and aftward 45.6-degree cameras, displayed in blue, green, and red colors, respectively. Color variations in the left image highlight spectral (true-color) differences, whereas those in the right image highlight differences in angular reflectance properties. The purple areas in the right image are low cloud, and light blue at the edge of the bay is due to increased forward scattering by the fast (smooth)ice. The orange areas are rougher ice, which scatters more light in the backward direction. This example illustrates how multi-angle viewing can distinguish physical structures and textures. Data for all channels are presented in a Space Oblique Mercator map projection to facilitate their co-registration. The images are about 400 km (250 miles) wide with a spatial resolution of about 275 meters (300 yards). North is toward the top. 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. |
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St. Louis, Missouri
PIA09362
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
St. Louis, Missouri |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
St. Louis is tucked in a bend of the Mississippi River, just south of the point at which the Illinois River joins the larger Mississippi, and where the Missouri River flows in from the west. Drainage patterns to the east, on the Illinois side, are highlighted with green vegetation. Meandering rivers in the verdant Ozark Plateau appear to the south and west. This true-color view from NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) was taken with the instrument's downward looking (nadir) camera on October 15, 2005. The urban areas of greater St. Louis show up as grey-white, including nearby Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Clayton, University City, Ferguson, St. Ann, St. Charles, and East St. Louis. The region is home to nearly three million people. MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, 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. |
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Multi-angle Portrayals of Mt
…
PIA03733
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Multi-angle Portrayals of Mt. Etna's Plume |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
These images from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) capture the energetic eruption of Sicily's Mount Etna volcano on October 29, 2002. Viewing Etna's eruptive activities at MISR's multiple observation angles reveals the structure and relative heights of several plumes emanating from the volcano. The image panels are a natural-color view from MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera (top), and a 3D stereo anaglyph (bottom). In the anaglyph, data from the 70-degree and 60-degree forward-looking cameras are displayed as red and green-blue, respectively. (For the 60-degree camera, 275-m red band data were used to spatially "sharpen" the green and blue 1.1-km resolution imagery). With the aid of red-blue glasses, the three-dimensional nature of the ash plume and the relative heights of plume and clouds can be discerned. Glasses should be worn with the red filter placed over your left eye. Information on ordering glasses can be found at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/Help/VendorList.html#Glasses [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/Help/VendorList.html#Glasses ]. Also provided is a "fly-over"""animation, which progresses according to the sequence in which the MISR cameras observed this scene. Both the "fly-over" and the stereo anaglyph allow the structure of both the main, dark plume and several lighter-colored plumes to be observed. The animation uses all nine MISR cameras. As the Terra satellite passes overhead, the 70-degree forward-viewing camera views a scene first, followed by the 60, 46 and 26-degree forward-viewing cameras, the nadir camera, and the four backward-viewing cameras. It takes approximately seven minutes for all nine cameras to view an area. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously from pole to pole, and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. These images were generated from a portion of the data acquired during Terra orbit 15233 and have been oriented with north to the left. The still image panels cover an area of about 297 kilometers x 133 kilometers, and utilize data from blocks 60 to 62 within World Reference System-2 path 187. 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. |
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MISR Views the Moon
PIA04327
Earth
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR Views the Moon |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
On April 14, 2003, a special maneuver of the Terra spacecraft was performed as it traversed the nightside of orbit 17672. This maneuver entailed a "backward somersault" of the spacecraft as it pitched end-over-end, allowing the normally Earth-viewing instruments to look at deep space and the waxing gibbous Moon. The purpose of this acrobatic feat is to assist in the calibration of several of Terra's instruments. Over a 16-minute interval, the lunar disk passed through the fields-of-view of all nine MISR cameras, resulting in this unique set of images. Shown here are "raw" red-band data, with no adjustments for radiometric calibration. Because the pitch rate of the spacecraft resulted in different pixel spacings in the left-right and up-down directions, the aspect ratios of the raw images have been adjusted to provide roughly circular disks. Each image is labeled with the name of the camera which acquired it. The "D" cameras are the ones which normally view the Earth at the most oblique angles, and the letters "f" and "a" denote fore- and aft-viewing orientations, respectively. "An" is the vertical-viewing (nadir) camera. Why are the "D" images the sharpest? The letters "A", "B", "C", and "D" refer to the different lens designs used on MISR, with the "D" lenses having focal lengths more than twice as large as the "A" lenses. A pixel at the center of the lunar disk subtends about 65 kilometers for the "D" cameras and about 137 kilometers for the "A" cameras. As the Moon passed into the field-of-view of each of the nine cameras, the lunar disk was always viewed "straight on", so there is no multiangular effect in these images. Familiar lunar features are clearly recognizable. The dark lunar "maria" are vast plains of basaltic lava. The feature near the upper right-hand edge of the lunar disk is Mare Crisium. Between it and image center is Mare Tranquillitatis, site of the 1969 Apollo 11 lunar landing. About halfway between image center and the left edge of the disk is the crater Copernicus, with the large Mare Imbrium to its north. Near the bottom is the crater Tycho, with bright rays of ejecta extending in many directions. Planning for this maneuver has been underway since before Terra's launch. A high school Applied Engineering Competition was also held (in partnership with the Goddard Space Flight Center's Educational Programs Office) in which students were asked to visualize the precise timing and mechanics of Terra's on-orbit calibration maneuvers. For further information see http://terra.nasa.gov/Events/Competition/ [ http://terra.nasa.gov/Events/Competition/ ] 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. |
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Fog and Haze in California's
…
PIA02644
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Fog and Haze in California's San Joaquin Valley |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This illustration features images of southern California and southwestern Nevada acquired on January 3, 2001 (Terra orbit 5569), and includes data from three of MISR's nine cameras. The San Joaquin Valley, which comprises the southern extent of California's Central Valley, covers much of the viewed area. Also visible are several of the Channel Islands near the bottom, and Mono and Walker Lakes, which stand out as darker patches near the top center, especially in the vertical and backward oblique images. Near the lower right of each image is the Los Angeles Basin, with the distinctive chevron shape of the Mojave Desert to its north. The Central Valley is a well-irrigated and richly productive agricultural area situated between the Coast Range and the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas. During the winter, the region is noted for its hazy overcasts and a low, thick ground fog known as the Tule. Owing to the effects of the atmosphere on reflected sunlight, dramatic differences in the MISR images are apparent as the angle of view changes. An area of thick, white fog in the San Joaquin Valley is visible in all three of the images. However, the pervasive haze that fills most of the valley is only slightly visible in the vertical view. At the oblique angles, the haze is highly distinguishable against the land surface background, particularly in the forward-viewing direction. Just above image center, the forward view also reveals bluish-tinged plumes near Lava Butte in Sequoia National Forest, where the National Interagency Coordination Center reported an active forest fire. The changing surface visibility in the multi-angle data allows us to derive the amount of atmospheric haze. In the lower right quadrant is a map of haze amount determined from automated processing of the MISR imagery. Low amounts of haze are shown in blue, and a variation in hue through shades of green, yellow, and red indicates progressively larger amounts of airborne particulates. Due to the topographically complex terrain, no results are obtained over the Sierra Nevada and Coastal mountains and these areas are shown in black. However, the enhanced haziness of the San Joaquin Valley is evident in this derived product. Within the yellow pixels, the Sun would look about 40% dimmer to an observer on the ground in comparison to its brightness on a much clearer day. 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. |
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Roof of the World and the Ab
…
PIA02646
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Roof of the World and the Abode of Snow |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The Tibetan Plateau and a portion of the Himalayan Mountain chain are captured in this MISR stereo image from May 14, 2000 (Terra orbit 2153). The image is a composite of data from the instrument's vertical and 46-degree forward cameras, and has been oriented with north at the left. Viewing the image in 3-D requires the use of red/blue glasses with the red filter placed over your left eye. On the left side of this image is the Tibetan Plateau, the highest plateau on Earth and often called the "Roof of the World." Near the lower left is lake Paiku Co, at an altitude of 4591 meters. The border between Tibet and Nepal marks the eastern extent of the magnificent Himalayan Mountains, home to many of the world's highest peaks. Himalaya is a Sanskrit word meaning "the Abode of Snow." Mt. Everest (8848 meters) and Mt. Makalu (8481 meters) are visible near the top center of the image. Further to the south is the Mahabharat Range, separated from the Himalayas by the "River of Gold", the Sun Kosi. Rounding out our tour from north to south, on the righthand side of the image, is the densely populated Indo-Gangetic Plain of northern India. 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. |
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Mouth of the Amazon
PIA02643
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Mouth of the Amazon |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Flowing over 6450 kilometers eastward across Brazil, the Amazon River originates in the Peruvian Andes as tiny mountain streams that eventually combine to form one of the world's mightiest rivers. This image of the Amazon's mouth was captured by MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera on September 8, 2000 during Terra orbit 3862. The image is approximately 380 kilometers in width. While the Amazon is surpassed in length by the Nile, it carries the largest volume of freshwater in the world, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the Earth's discharge into the oceans. Millions of cubic feet of water empty into the Atlantic every second, and the effluent is transported to very large distances from shore. 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. |
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Icebergs in the Ross Sea, An
…
PIA02639
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Icebergs in the Ross Sea, Antarctica |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Two large icebergs, designated B-15A and C-16, are captured in this MISR nadir camera view of the Ross Ice Shelf and Ross Sea in Antarctica. The image was acquired on December 10, 2000 during Terra orbit 5220. Iceberg C-16 calved off the ice shelf in late September and is nearly 50 kilometers in length. It is seen here having migrated to the vicinity of Cape Bird on Ross Island. The initial letter designation in an iceberg's name denotes the longitudinal quadrant in which it is first seen, and new icebergs sighted in that quadrant are sequentially numbered. B-15 divided from the ice shelf last March, and initially was nearly as large as the state of Connecticut. It has since broken up into several pieces, hence the final letter designation in the berg shown in this image. Ross Island lies between 77 and 78 degrees south latitude, and consists of several volcanic peaks, of which the still active Mt. Erebus is the tallest (3794 meters). It overlooks McMurdo Station, a U.S. research facility located near the tip of the island's Hut Point Peninsula. 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. |
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The Nile
PIA02647
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
The Nile |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image of the northern portion of the Nile River was captured by MISR's nadir camera on January 30, 2001 (Terra orbit 5956). The Nile is the longest river in the world, extending for about 6700 kilometers from its headwaters in the highlands of eastern Africa. At the apex of the fertile Nile River Delta is the Egyptian capital city of Cairo. To the west are the Great Pyramids of Giza. North of here the Nile branches into two distributaries, the Rosetta to the west and the Damietta to the east. Also visible in this image is the Suez Canal, a shipping waterway connecting Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Suez. The Gulf is an arm of the Red Sea, and is located on the righthand side of the picture. 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. |
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Airborne Dust and Ash over S
…
PIA04348
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Airborne Dust and Ash over Southern California |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The Santa Ana winds that typically blow through Southern California during late fall and winter swept large amounts of dust and ash across the skies of San Diego and over the Pacific Ocean on November 27, 2003. The intense brush fires that had swept through the foothills of this region in October left soils exposed and vulnerable to such strong winds. In this image pair from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), a false-color nadir image (left) highlights the burnt areas, while a 3-D stereo anaglyph image (right) accentuates the dust and indicates the relative height above the surface of the dust and ash blown aloft from the hills that were burnt. The two images cover the same area and have been oriented with north toward the left in order to facilitate stereo viewing. Burnt areas appear in brown hues and highly vegetated areas appear red in the left-hand view, which was constructed with near-infrared, green and blue band data from MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera. The accentuation of the dust and ash plumes in the anaglyph is due to the use of imagery from two of MISR's oblique-viewing cameras. Here, red band data from MISR's 70° forward-viewing and 60° forward-viewing cameras are displayed as red and green/blue, respectively. The anaglyph makes it possible to see height variations of the surface terrain, dust and ash plumes, and a few high clouds, but height variations can only be observed in 3-D with the aid of red/blue glasses. Information on ordering glasses can be found at http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/Help/VendorList.html#Glasses [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/Help/VendorList.html#Glasses ]. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82° north and 82° south latitude. These data products were generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during Terra orbit 20976. The panels cover an area of about 144 kilometers x 237 kilometers, and use data from blocks 64 to 65 within World Reference System-2 path 40. 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. |
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Green Summer and Icy Winter
…
PIA02645
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Green Summer and Icy Winter in James Bay |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
One year ago, in late February 2000, MISR began acquiring Earth imagery. Its "first light" images showed a frozen James Bay in the Ontario-Quebec region of Canada. These more recent nadir-camera views of the same area illuminate stark contrasts between summer and winter. The left-hand image was acquired on August 9, 2000 (Terra orbit 3427), and the right-hand image is from January 16, 2001 (Terra orbit 5757). James Bay lies at the southern end of Hudson Bay. It is named for the English explorer Thomas James, who first explored the area in 1631 while searching for the Northwest Passage. Visible in these images are some of the many rivers that flow into the bay, starting at the southern tip and moving clockwise on the western side are the Harricana, Moose, Albany, and Attawapiskat. The latter enters the bay just to the west of the large, crescent-shaped Akimiski Island. 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. |
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MISR Looks at Cape Cod
PIA02633
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR Looks at Cape Cod |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Each year in late November the United States observes the Thanksgiving holiday, commemorating the harvest festival celebrated by the Plymouth colonists and the Native Americans who helped them survive the devastating winter of 1620. Plymouth, Massachusetts, where the Mayflower Pilgrims landed, is located on the west side of Cape Cod Bay, shown in this MISR vertical-viewing (nadir) camera image. This nearly cloud-free picture was acquired on April 13, 2000 during Terra orbit 1708. South of the distinctively-shaped Cape Cod are Nantucket Island and Martha's Vineyard. Further west is Block Island, south of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island, New York, is visible at the lower left. On the mainland, Providence and Boston appear as gray patches. Jutting out from the Massachusetts coastline, northeast of Boston, is Cape Ann, location of the city of Gloucester, which was settled soon after the Pilgrim's arrival in Plymouth. Gloucester is the oldest fishing port in the eastern United States. 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. |
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An Irish Tale: One City, Two
…
PIA02649
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
An Irish Tale: One City, Two Asteroids |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This MISR nadir-camera image of Ireland was acquired on May 5, 2000 during Terra orbit 2026. The location of the town of Armagh in Northern Ireland is marked. Armagh is the site of the 200-year-old Armagh Observatory. The observatory's contributions to astronomical research were recently commemorated by the official naming of two asteroids, "ArmaghObs" and "Ardmacha." The latter is the ancient Gaelic name for the town, which was founded in 445 A.D. by St. Patrick. The asteroids were discovered in July 1987 by planetary astronomer Eleanor Helin, Principal Investigator of JPL's Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program. The new names were published in the January 2001 Minor Planet Circular of the International Astronomical Union. The Irish Sea and the Isle of Man are located on the right-hand side of this image. Southwestern Scotland is visible in the upper right corner, and portions of northwestern Wales can be seen in the lower right. 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. |
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Northern California and San
…
PIA02637
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Northern California and San Francisco Bay |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The left image of this pair was acquired by MISR's nadir camera on August 17, 2000 during Terra orbit 3545. Toward the top, and nestled between the Coast Range and the Sierra Nevadas, are the green fields of the Sacramento Valley. The city of Sacramento is the grayish area near the right-hand side of the image. Further south, San Francisco and other cities of the Bay Area are visible. On the right is a zoomed-in view of the area outlined by the yellow polygon. It highlights the southern end of San Francisco Bay, and was acquired by MISR's airborne counterpart, AirMISR, during an engineering check-out flight on August 25, 1997. AirMISR flies aboard a NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft and contains a single camera that rotates to different view angles. When this image was acquired, the AirMISR camera was pointed 70 degrees forward of the vertical. Colorful tidal flats are visible in both the AirMISR and MISR imagery. 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. For more information: http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov |
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MISR Scans the Texas-Oklahom
…
PIA02634
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR Scans the Texas-Oklahoma Border |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
These MISR images of Oklahoma and north Texas were acquired on March 12, 2000 during Terra orbit 1243. The three images on the left, from top to bottom, are from the 70-degree forward viewing camera, the vertical-viewing (nadir) camera, and the 70-degree aftward viewing camera. The higher brightness, bluer tinge, and reduced contrast of the oblique views result primarily from scattering of sunlight in the Earth's atmosphere, though some color and brightness variations are also due to differences in surface reflection at the different angles. The longer slant path through the atmosphere at the oblique angles also accentuates the appearance of thin, high-altitude cirrus clouds. On the right, two areas from the nadir camera image are shown in more detail, along with notations highlighting major geographic features. The south bank of the Red River marks the boundary between Texas and Oklahoma. Traversing brush-covered and grassy plains, rolling hills, and prairies, the Red River and the Canadian River are important resources for farming, ranching, public drinking water, hydroelectric power, and recreation. Both originate in New Mexico and flow eastward, their waters eventually discharging into the Mississippi River. A smoke plume to the north of the Ouachita Mountains and east of Lake Eufaula is visible in the detailed nadir imagery. The plume is also very obvious at the 70-degree forward view angle, to the right of center and about one-fourth of the way down from the top of the image. 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. |
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Atmospheric Vortices near Gu
…
PIA02635
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Atmospheric Vortices near Guadalupe Island |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
These MISR images from June 11, 2000 (Terra orbit 2569) demonstrate a turbulent atmospheric flow pattern known as the von Karman vortex street. This phenomenon is named after aerodynamicist Theodore von Karman, who theoretically derived the conditions under which it occurs. The alternating double row of vortices can form in the wake of an obstacle, in this instance the eastern Pacific island of Guadalupe. The rugged terrain of this volcanic Mexican island reaches a maximum elevation of 1.3 kilometers. The island is about 35 kilometers long and is located 260 kilometers west of Baja California. The vortex pattern is made visible by the marine stratocumulus clouds around Guadalupe Island. The upper image is a color view obtained by MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera. North is toward the left. The orientation of the vortex street indicates that the wind direction is from lower left to upper right (northwest to southeast). The areas within the vortex centers tend to be clear because the rotating motions induce a vertical wind component that can break up the cloud deck. The lower view is a stereo picture generated from data acquired by MISR's fore- and aft-viewing 70-degree cameras. A 3-D effect is obtained by viewing the image with red/blue glasses and placing the red filter over your left eye. Note how the downwelling atmospheric motion (change in elevation from high to low) is accompanied by a clearing in the center of the first vortex. As the vortices propagate downstream, their rotational velocities weaken. As a consequence, the induced vertical motion and cloud-clearing effect weakens as well. Theodore von Karman was a Professor of Aeronautics at Caltech and Director of Caltech's Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory from 1930-1949. He was one of the principal 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. |
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MISR Sights the Bering Strai
…
PIA02638
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
MISR Sights the Bering Strait |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
With the Seward Peninsula of Alaska to the east, and Chukotskiy Poluostrov of Siberia to the west, the Bering Strait separates the United States and the Russian Federation by only 90 kilometers. It is named for Danish explorer Vitus Bering, who spotted the Alaskan mainland in 1741 while leading an expedition of Russian sailors. This view of the region was captured by MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera on August 18, 2000 during Terra orbit 3562. The boundary between the US and Russia lies between Big and Little Diomede Islands, which are visible in the middle of the Bering Strait. The Arctic Circle, at 66.5 degrees north latitude, runs through the Arctic Ocean in the top part of this image. This circle marks the southernmost latitude for which the Sun does not rise above the horizon on the day of the winter solstice. At the bottom of this image is St. Lawrence Island. Situated in the Bering Sea, it is part of Alaska and home to Yupik Eskimos. 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. For more information: http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov |
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Pine Island Glacier, Antarct
…
PIA02650
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
…
| Title |
Pine Island Glacier, Antarctica |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This pair of MISR images of the Pine Island Glacier in western Antarctica was acquired on December 12, 2000 during Terra orbit 5246. At left is a conventional, true-color image from the downward-looking (nadir) camera. The false-color image at right is a composite of red band data taken by the MISR forward 60-degree, nadir, and aftward 60-degree cameras, displayed in red, green, and blue colors, respectively. Color variations in the left (true-color) image highlight spectral differences. In the multi-angle composite, on the other hand, color variations act as a proxy for differences in the angular reflectance properties of the scene. In this representation, clouds show up as light purple. Blue to orange gradations on the surface indicate a transition in ice texture from smooth to rough. For example, the bright orange "carrot-like" features are rough crevasses on the glacier's tongue. In the conventional nadir view, the blue ice labeled "rough crevasses" and "smooth blue ice" exhibit similar coloration, but the multi-angle composite reveals their different textures, with the smoother ice appearing dark purple instead of orange. This could be an indicator of different mechanisms by which this ice is exposed. The multi-angle view also reveals subtle roughness variations on the frozen sea ice between the glacier and the open water in Pine Island Bay. To the left of the "icebergs" label are chunks of floating ice. Additionally, smaller icebergs embedded in the frozen sea ice are visible below and to the right of the label. These small icebergs are associated with dark streaks. Analysis of the illumination geometry suggests that these streaks are surface features, not shadows. Wind-driven motion and thinning of the sea ice in the vicinity of the icebergs is one possible explanation. Recently, Robert Bindschadler, a glaciologist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center discovered in Landsat 7 imagery a newly-formed crack traversing the Pine Island Glacier. This crack is visible as an off-vertical dark line in the MISR nadir view. In the multi-angle composite, the crack and other stress fractures show up very clearly in bright orange. Radar observations of Pine Island Glacier in the 1990's showed the glacier to be shrinking, and the newly discovered crack is expected to eventually lead to the calving of a major iceberg. 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. |
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Swirls of Lace
PIA02648
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
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| 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. |
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Airborne Particulates over S
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PIA02640
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
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| Title |
Airborne Particulates over Southern Africa |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This map shows the abundance of airborne particulates, or aerosols, over Southern Africa during the period August 14 - September 29, 2000. Low particle concentrations are shown in shades of blue, and high concentrations in shades of red. The results were generated from MISR imagery acquired over this time period, and processed using MISR's automated software system. The approach for deriving aerosol amount makes use of the variation of scene brightness and contrast as a function of observation angle. Black areas over the land area correspond to places where a result was not obtained, for example, due to the presence of clouds. Extensive burning of grass and shrubland for land management and agriculture comprises a principal source of these aerosols. Vegetation availability increases northward, hence the greater abundance of haze and smoke in Angola and southern Zaire. The lower aerosol abundance around Lesotho and southeastern South Africa is consistent with the higher terrain elevations near the Drakensberg Mountains. 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. |
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Into the Eye of the Storm
PIA02636
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
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| Title |
Into the Eye of the Storm |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
MISR acquired this stereoimage of Hurricane Alberto on August 19, 2000 during Terra orbit 3571. At this time, the storm was located in the North Atlantic Ocean, about 1700 kilometers west of the Azores. According to the National Weather Service, Alberto was increasing in intensity and exhibiting maximum sustained winds of about 165 kilometers per hour. This stereo "anaglyph" image was generated using MISR's vertical (nadir)camera plus the 26-degree forward-viewing camera. It is oriented so that the spacecraft's flight path is from left to right. North is at the left. To view the image in 3-D, use red/blue glasses with the red filter over your left eye. Near the center of the storm, the "eye" measures about 60 kilometers in diameter. The steep eye wall, where surface winds reach their peak intensity, is very apparent. Convective thunderclouds are present in the storm's spiral arms, and their three-dimensional structure is visible in this stereo view. 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. For more information: http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov |
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Winter Snowfall Turns an Eme
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PIA02641
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
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| Title |
Winter Snowfall Turns an Emerald White |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
Ireland's climate is normally mild due to the nearby Gulf Stream, but the waning days of 2000 saw the Emerald Isle's green fields swathed in an uncommon blanket of white. The contrast between summer and winter is apparent in this pair of images of southwestern Ireland acquired by MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera on August 23, 2000 (left) and December 29, 2000 (right). The corresponding Terra orbit numbers are 3628 and 5492, respectively. The year 2000 brought record-breaking weather to the British Isles. England and Wales experienced the wettest spring and autumn months since 1766. Despite being one of the warmest years in recent history, a cold snap arrived between Christmas and New Year's Day. According to the UK Meteorological Office, the 18 centimeters (7 inches) of snow recorded at Aldergrove, Northern Ireland, on December 27-28 was the deepest daily fall since 1930. Prominent geographical features visible in the MISR images include Galway Bay near the top left. Further south, the mouth of the River Shannon, the largest river in the British Isles, meets the Atlantic Ocean. In the lower portions of the images are the counties of Limerick, Kerry and Cork. 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 |
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