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Sun of James Bay and Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
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Multi-angle Images of Hudson
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PIA02603
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
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| 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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Green Summer and Icy Winter
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PIA02645
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
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| 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's First Views of James
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PIA02450
Sol (our sun)
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroR
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| Title |
MISR's First Views of James Bay, Canada |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
The first images taken by NASA's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) on February 24, 2000, show the winter landscape of James Bay, Ontario, Canada from three of the instrument's nine cameras. The image at left captures the opening of MISR's cover and was recorded by the most oblique forward-viewing camera, which images the Earth at 70 degrees relative to a vertical plane. Several islands, including the crescent-shaped Akimiski Island, are visible in the frozen bay. The center image was acquired a few minutes later by the "nadir" camera, which looks straight down. The image on the right was taken seven minutes after the first image from the most oblique, aftward-viewing camera."These first pictures illustrate many of MISR's new and unique capabilities," said Dr. David J. Diner, MISR principal investigator of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. "The instrument, operations system, and science data processing software are performing extremely well and the quality of the images, particularly at the very challenging oblique angles, is outstanding." An increased blue tint at the oblique angles is the result of scattering of light in the atmosphere. Contrast reversals and other color and brightness variations from one angle to another are also apparent, and are most likely due to varied surface geometries and textures. Observing such changes in image content and detail from space over a wide range of angles, almost simultaneously, is a novel approach for characterizing surface, atmospheric, and cloud characteristics. The MISR data will continue to provide unprecedented details about Earth's climate over the next six years. Capturing long, ribbon-like images, 400 kilometers (250 miles) wide, MISR can detect objects as small as 275 meters (900 feet) in diameter. The MISR instrument is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. MISR is flying on the Terra satellite, which is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. |
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