Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights

ISS024 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights

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ISS024-E-6136 Polar Mesospheric Clouds Illuminated by Orbital Sunrise: Polar mesospheric clouds can be observed from both the Earth’s surface and in orbit by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The clouds are also called noctilucent, or “night-shining,” clouds because they are usually seen at twilight. When the Sun sets below the horizon and the Earth’s surface gets dark, these clouds are still briefly illuminated by sunlight. Occasionally the space station’s high-altitude orbital track becomes nearly parallel to the Earth’s day/night terminator for a time, allowing polar mesospheric clouds to be visible to the crew at times other than the usual twilight.
This unusual astronaut photograph shows polar mesospheric clouds illuminated by the rising, rather than setting Sun. Low clouds on the horizon appear yellow and orange, while higher clouds and aerosols (particles like dust and pollution) are illuminated a brilliant white. Polar mesospheric clouds appear as light blue ribbons extending across the top of the image. These clouds typically occur at high latitudes of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and high altitudes (76–85 kilometers, near the boundary between the mesosphere and thermosphere atmospheric layers).
The ISS was located over the Greek island of Kos in the Aegean Sea (near the southwestern coastline of Turkey) when the image was taken at approximately midnight local time. The ISS was tracking northeastward, nearly parallel to the terminator, making it possible to observe an apparent “sunrise” almost due north. Earlier this year, a similarly unusual alignment of the ISS orbit track, the terminator position, and the seasonal position of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun allowed astronauts to capture striking imagery of polar mesospheric clouds over the Southern Hemisphere.

ISS024-E-8396 Sabancaya Volcano, Peru: The 5,967-meter- (19,577-foot-) high Sabancaya stratovolcano (Nevado Sabancaya in the local language) is located in southern Perú, approximately 70 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of the city of Arequipa. The name Sabancaya means “tongue of fire” in the Quechua Indian language.
Sabancaya is part of a volcanic complex that includes two other nearby (and older) volcanoes, neither of which has been active historically. In this detailed astronaut photograph, Nevado Ampato is visible to the south (image left), and the lower flanks of Nevado Hualca Hualca are visible to the north (image top right). The snowy peaks of the three volcanoes provide a stark contrast to the surrounding desert of the Puna Plateau.
Sabancaya’s first historical record of an eruption dates to 1750. The most recent eruptive activity at the volcano occurred in July 2003, and it deposited ash on the volcano’s summit and northeastern flank. Volcanism at Sabancaya is fueled by magma generated at the subduction zone between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates.
Magma can erupt to the surface and form lava flows through the volcano’s summit (frequently forming a crater), but it can also erupt from lava domes and flank vents along the volcano’s sides. Lava has issued from all of these points at Sabancaya, forming numerous gray to dark brown scalloped lobes that extend in all directions except southwards (image center).

ISS024-E-9526 Dominic Point Fire, Montana: Lightning strikes and human activities in the forested mountains of the western United States can spark wildfires during the summer dry season. The Dominic Point Fire was first reported near 3:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, July 25, 2010. Approximately one hour later, the International Space Station crew photographed the fire’s large smoke plume—already extending at least 8 kilometers (5 miles) to the east—from orbit as the station passed almost directly overhead. Forest Service fire crews, slurry bombers, and helicopters were on the scene by that evening.
The fire may have been started by a lightning strike, as there are no trails leading into the fire area located approximately 22 kilometers (14 miles) northeast of Hamilton, Montana, according to local reports. As of July 26, 2010, the fire had burned approximately 700 to 1,000 acres (283 to 405 hectares) of the Bitterroot National Forest in western Montana. The fire is thought to have expanded quickly due to high temperatures, low humidity, and favorable winds with an abundance of deadfall—dead trees and logs that provide readily combustible fuels—in the area.

ISS024-E-9404 Oil Slick, Mississippi River Delta, Gulf of Mexico: The International Space Station (ISS) observed the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in late July 2010, as part of ongoing observations of the region. When this image was taken, three months after the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, the leak had been plugged for eight days. Water surfaces appear bright and land surfaces appear dark in the image. The stark contrast is due to sunglint, in which the Sun is reflected off water surfaces back towards the astronaut observer on board the ISS. The sunglint reveals various features in the Gulf of Mexico, especially sheens of oil that appear as packets of long bright streaks (image right). Sediments carried by the Mississippi River have a pale beige coloration in this image, with distinct margins between plumes that likely mark tidal pulses of river water into the Gulf of Mexico. A boat wake cuts across one of the oil packets at image top right.
The bright waterways known as the South and Southwest Passes of the tip of the Mississippi River Delta (image center left and lower left) provide passage for ships into the Gulf of Mexico. The section of South Pass shown in the image is 8 miles (13 km) long. This gives a sense of the proximity of the ruined Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which is located only 50 miles (80 km) to the southeast of the imaged area (not shown.) Daily maps of oil distribution produced by NOAA show predicted heavier and lighter oil movement near the Gulf coastline. The map from July 22, 2010, (PDF file) shows that on the day this image was taken from the ISS (July 23, 2010), the north edge of the “oiled” zone was expected to bank up against the Delta. The observed spread of the surface oil in the approximately 100 days since the explosion highlights the connectivity between the deep-water areas and coastlines of the Gulf of Mexico.
To learn more about oil slick images shown on the Earth Observatory, including why the oil isn’t visible every day, please visit Gulf of Mexico Oil Slick Images: Frequently Asked Questions.

ISS024-E-10403 NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas: This detailed astronaut photograph is centered on the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC), located in the southeastern Houston metropolitan area. The facility was established in 1961 as the Manned Spacecraft Center and renamed in honor of the late U.S. President Johnson (a Texas native) in 1973. JSC serves as the lead NASA center for both astronaut training and mission control of manned spacecraft—such as the International Space Station (ISS) and Space Shuttle—and has done so throughout the history of the U.S. manned space program. The Center also collaborates with other NASA and international partner facilities in a variety of scientific and engineering programs related to human space flight and planetary exploration.
JSC is located approximately midway between downtown Houston and Galveston, and is bordered by several smaller municipalities that form a mosaic of urban and suburban land use (grey areas with street grids, and commercial/industrial areas characterized by white rooftops). Large tracts of grassy fields and forests in the area (light to dark green respectively) include nature preserves, grazing lands, and flood control areas. Also visible at image upper left is Ellington Field. This airport services a variety of NASA aircraft used for astronaut training, scientific, and cargo transport purposes.
Clear Lake, an inlet of Galveston Bay, is located to the immediate southeast of JSC. Both Clear Lake and Galveston Bay appear silver-grey due to sunglint, or light reflected back towards the observer on the ISS that gives the water surface a mirror-like appearance. Several boat wakes are visible in Galveston Bay (image right) due to disruption of the water surface that reduces the sunglint effect.
Other astronaut photographs also feature the Houston and Galveston Bay area, including images of Houston at Night and the Houston Ship Channel area.

ISS024-E-10162 Gulf of Izmit, Turkey: One of the most industrialized areas of Turkey lies at the eastern edge of the Sea of Marmara, at the end of the Gulf of Izmit. The long, narrow waterway provides ship access to the cities of Izmit and Gölcük. This astronaut photograph highlights the metropolitan area of Izmit along the northern and eastern shores. Commercial and industrial centers—including petroleum refineries and automobile factories—are recognizable by large structures with white rooftops. The city of Izmit, then known as Nicomedia, was part of the Roman Empire and served as its easternmost capital before Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) assumed that role in 330 AD. Izmit is located approximately 83 kilometers (52 miles) to the east-southeast of Istanbul.
The smaller city of Gölcük on the southern shoreline of the Gulf is the location of a Turkish naval facility and another automobile factory. Both urban areas are built primarily on flat lowlands adjacent to the Gulf, with green vegetation marking highland areas to the north of Izmit and south of Gölcük. Both the Izmit and Gölcük areas were severely damaged by a magnitude-7.4 earthquake on August 17, 1999, that resulted in over 17,000 fatalities. The earthquake occurred along the North Anatolian strike-slip fault that extends roughly east-west beneath the Gulf of Izmit.

ISS024-E-11914 Mataiva Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago, South Pacific Ocean: The Tuamotu Archipelago is part of French Polynesia, and forms the largest chain of atolls in the world. This astronaut photograph features Mataiva Atoll, the westernmost atoll of the Tuamotu chain. An atoll is a ring-shaped island that encloses a central lagoon. This distinctive morphology is usually associated with oceanic islands formed by volcanoes; coral reefs become established around the partially submerged volcanic cone. Over geologic time the central volcano becomes extinct, followed by erosion and subsidence beneath the sea surface, leaving the coral reefs as a ring around (or cap on) the submerged island remnant. Coral reefs exposed above the sea surface in turn experience erosion, sedimentation, and soil formation, leading to the establishment of vegetation and complex ecosystems—including in many cases human habitation.
Mataiva Atoll is notable in that its central lagoon includes a network of ridges (white, image center) and small basins formed from eroded coral reefs. Mataiva means “nine eyes” in Tuamotuan, an allusion to nine narrow channels on the south-central portion of the island. The atoll is sparsely populated, with only a single village—Pahua—located on either side of the only pass providing constant connection between the shallow (light blue) water of the lagoon and the deeper (dark blue) adjacent Pacific Ocean. Much of the 10-kilometer- (6-mile-) long atoll is covered with forest (greenish brown). Vanilla and copra (dried coconut) are major exports from the atoll, but tourism is becoming a larger part of the economy.

ISS024-E-12920 Hurricane Earl - The Astronaut View: The relatively placid view from the International Space Station belied the potent forces at work in Hurricane Earl as it hovered over the tropical Atlantic Ocean on August 30. With maximum sustained winds of 135 miles (215 kilometers) per hour, the storm was classified as a category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale as it passed north of the Virgin Islands.
In this photograph captured with a digital SLR camera by NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock, Earl had a distinct eye that spanned about 17 miles (28 kilometers). Most of the storm had a seemingly uniform top, though the bottom edge of the image gives some sense of the towering thunderheads forming over the ocean. The solar panels of the ISS remind us that the sun is still shining, at least on ISS Expedition 24.
Around the time of the photograph on August 30, the National Hurricane Center reported that Earl was centered near latitude 19.3 degrees North, longitude 64.7 degrees West, about 110 miles (180 kilometers) northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The storm was moving west-northwest at 15 miles (24 km) per hour.
On the same day, scientists participating in NASA's Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes field campaign snapped their own photos of the storm, which you can see here.
"Hurricane Earl is gathering some serious strength," Wheelock wrote from his perch on ISS. "It is incredible what a difference a day makes when you’re dealing with this force of nature. Please keep a watchful eye on this one...not sure if Earl will go quietly into the night like Danielle."

ISS024-E-12425 Volcanic Landscapes, Central Andes: The landscape in the central Andes Mountains, near the border between Chile and Argentina, is dominated by volcanoes and associated landforms. Layers of older sedimentary rocks are visible to the upper middle, and many volcanic cones show grooves where water has eroded the rock to form gullies. Such erosion has occurred since the host volcano was built up, indicating that most volcanoes in this view have been inactive for centuries or millennia.
A few volcanoes exhibit much less erosion, and even show tongues of dark, recent lava flows (upper left). Two of these volcanoes, Cerro el Cóndor and Peinado, have likely erupted within the past 12,000 years.
Also visible is the world’s highest active volcano, Nevado Ojos del Salado, with a summit 6,887 meters (22,600 feet) above sea level. The most recent confirmed eruption has been dated to the year 700 (+/- 300 years), but minor eruptive activity may have occurred as recently as 1993.
Stratovolcanoes such as Cerro el Cóndor, Peinado, and Nevado Ojos del Salado are formed partly by the buildup of lava flows and partly by the buildup of explosively vented material dropping back down onto the surface. One material associated with these eruptions is welded tuff, formed by molten and fragmented rock that accumulates on the ground and later solidifies. A large tuff sheet is visible at the top left. Formed very rapidly, these sheets have been termed “instant landscapes.” The Andean volcanic system has been so active that the origin of many tuffs cannot be pinpointed because the source vents have been overprinted by subsequent volcanic events.
The landscape also shows that the erosive work of rivers and glaciers in the region is slower than the upward building processes of the volcanoes. The bright blue lake -- nearly 7 km (4.3 miles) long -- near the center of the image is Laguna Verde. This and other less obvious lakes indicate that water from snowmelt or direct precipitation is unable to reach the sea, being impounded in the depressions between the volcanic edifices.

ISS024-E-12749 Maseru, Lesotho: Maseru is the capital city of the Kingdom of Lesotho, and is located along the northwestern border of the country with the Republic of South Africa. The footprint of the urban area, recognizable by street grids and distinctive blue-roofed industrial buildings at image center, is only just visible against the surrounding landscape. The city has expanded eightfold (population 230,000 today) since independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1966, and is now home to one in five citizens of the country.
The Caledon (or Mohokare) River flows adjacent to Maseru and forms a part of the border between Lesotho and South Africa. Locally, the border extends from approximately image top center left to image bottom center right, with the cities of Ladybrand and Manyatseng located in South Africa. Moshoeshoe International Airport (left) provides access to the capital. Major industries in the city include flour mills and footwear and textile companies. Tourism is also a growing part of the local economy.
The Kingdom of Lesotho is completely landlocked by the surrounding Republic of South Africa. Major landforms visible in the image include the Qeme and Berea Plateaus, erosional remnants of horizontally layered sedimentary rocks that formed in the Karoo Basin approximately 200 – 229 million years ago during the Upper Triassic Period.

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This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science Directorate.

Recommended Citation: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth." .

NASA Responsible Official: Susan Runco

Curator: jsc-earthweb@mail.nasa.gov

Contributors: Earth Sciences Web Team

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

International Space Station National Laboratory

Last Update:

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ISS024-E-6136	Polar Mesospheric Clouds Illuminated by Orbital Sunrise: Polar mesospheric clouds can be observed from both the Earth’s surface and in orbit by astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The clouds are also called noctilucent, or “night-shining,” clouds because they are usually seen at twilight. When the Sun sets below the horizon and the Earth’s surface gets dark, these clouds are still briefly illuminated by sunlight. Occasionally the space station’s high-altitude orbital track becomes nearly parallel to the Earth’s day/night terminator for a time, allowing polar mesospheric clouds to be visible to the crew at times other than the usual twilight. This unusual astronaut photograph shows polar mesospheric clouds illuminated by the rising, rather than setting Sun. Low clouds on the horizon appear yellow and orange, while higher clouds and aerosols (particles like dust and pollution) are illuminated a brilliant white. Polar mesospheric clouds appear as light blue ribbons extending across the top of the image. These clouds typically occur at high latitudes of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and high altitudes (76–85 kilometers, near the boundary between the mesosphere and thermosphere atmospheric layers). The ISS was located over the Greek island of Kos in the Aegean Sea (near the southwestern coastline of Turkey) when the image was taken at approximately midnight local time. The ISS was tracking northeastward, nearly parallel to the terminator, making it possible to observe an apparent “sunrise” almost due north. Earlier this year, a similarly unusual alignment of the ISS orbit track, the terminator position, and the seasonal position of the Earth in its orbit around the Sun allowed astronauts to capture striking imagery of polar mesospheric clouds over the Southern Hemisphere.
ISS024-E-8396	Sabancaya Volcano, Peru: The 5,967-meter- (19,577-foot-) high Sabancaya stratovolcano (Nevado Sabancaya in the local language) is located in southern Perú, approximately 70 kilometers (40 miles) northwest of the city of Arequipa. The name Sabancaya means “tongue of fire” in the Quechua Indian language. Sabancaya is part of a volcanic complex that includes two other nearby (and older) volcanoes, neither of which has been active historically. In this detailed astronaut photograph, Nevado Ampato is visible to the south (image left), and the lower flanks of Nevado Hualca Hualca are visible to the north (image top right). The snowy peaks of the three volcanoes provide a stark contrast to the surrounding desert of the Puna Plateau. Sabancaya’s first historical record of an eruption dates to 1750. The most recent eruptive activity at the volcano occurred in July 2003, and it deposited ash on the volcano’s summit and northeastern flank. Volcanism at Sabancaya is fueled by magma generated at the subduction zone between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates. Magma can erupt to the surface and form lava flows through the volcano’s summit (frequently forming a crater), but it can also erupt from lava domes and flank vents along the volcano’s sides. Lava has issued from all of these points at Sabancaya, forming numerous gray to dark brown scalloped lobes that extend in all directions except southwards (image center).
ISS024-E-9526	Dominic Point Fire, Montana: Lightning strikes and human activities in the forested mountains of the western United States can spark wildfires during the summer dry season. The Dominic Point Fire was first reported near 3:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, July 25, 2010. Approximately one hour later, the International Space Station crew photographed the fire’s large smoke plume—already extending at least 8 kilometers (5 miles) to the east—from orbit as the station passed almost directly overhead. Forest Service fire crews, slurry bombers, and helicopters were on the scene by that evening. The fire may have been started by a lightning strike, as there are no trails leading into the fire area located approximately 22 kilometers (14 miles) northeast of Hamilton, Montana, according to local reports. As of July 26, 2010, the fire had burned approximately 700 to 1,000 acres (283 to 405 hectares) of the Bitterroot National Forest in western Montana. The fire is thought to have expanded quickly due to high temperatures, low humidity, and favorable winds with an abundance of deadfall—dead trees and logs that provide readily combustible fuels—in the area.
ISS024-E-9404	Oil Slick, Mississippi River Delta, Gulf of Mexico: The International Space Station (ISS) observed the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in late July 2010, as part of ongoing observations of the region. When this image was taken, three months after the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, the leak had been plugged for eight days. Water surfaces appear bright and land surfaces appear dark in the image. The stark contrast is due to sunglint, in which the Sun is reflected off water surfaces back towards the astronaut observer on board the ISS. The sunglint reveals various features in the Gulf of Mexico, especially sheens of oil that appear as packets of long bright streaks (image right). Sediments carried by the Mississippi River have a pale beige coloration in this image, with distinct margins between plumes that likely mark tidal pulses of river water into the Gulf of Mexico. A boat wake cuts across one of the oil packets at image top right. The bright waterways known as the South and Southwest Passes of the tip of the Mississippi River Delta (image center left and lower left) provide passage for ships into the Gulf of Mexico. The section of South Pass shown in the image is 8 miles (13 km) long. This gives a sense of the proximity of the ruined Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which is located only 50 miles (80 km) to the southeast of the imaged area (not shown.) Daily maps of oil distribution produced by NOAA show predicted heavier and lighter oil movement near the Gulf coastline. The map from July 22, 2010, (PDF file) shows that on the day this image was taken from the ISS (July 23, 2010), the north edge of the “oiled” zone was expected to bank up against the Delta. The observed spread of the surface oil in the approximately 100 days since the explosion highlights the connectivity between the deep-water areas and coastlines of the Gulf of Mexico. To learn more about oil slick images shown on the Earth Observatory, including why the oil isn’t visible every day, please visit Gulf of Mexico Oil Slick Images: Frequently Asked Questions.
ISS024-E-10403	NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas: This detailed astronaut photograph is centered on the NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC), located in the southeastern Houston metropolitan area. The facility was established in 1961 as the Manned Spacecraft Center and renamed in honor of the late U.S. President Johnson (a Texas native) in 1973. JSC serves as the lead NASA center for both astronaut training and mission control of manned spacecraft—such as the International Space Station (ISS) and Space Shuttle—and has done so throughout the history of the U.S. manned space program. The Center also collaborates with other NASA and international partner facilities in a variety of scientific and engineering programs related to human space flight and planetary exploration. JSC is located approximately midway between downtown Houston and Galveston, and is bordered by several smaller municipalities that form a mosaic of urban and suburban land use (grey areas with street grids, and commercial/industrial areas characterized by white rooftops). Large tracts of grassy fields and forests in the area (light to dark green respectively) include nature preserves, grazing lands, and flood control areas. Also visible at image upper left is Ellington Field. This airport services a variety of NASA aircraft used for astronaut training, scientific, and cargo transport purposes. Clear Lake, an inlet of Galveston Bay, is located to the immediate southeast of JSC. Both Clear Lake and Galveston Bay appear silver-grey due to sunglint, or light reflected back towards the observer on the ISS that gives the water surface a mirror-like appearance. Several boat wakes are visible in Galveston Bay (image right) due to disruption of the water surface that reduces the sunglint effect. Other astronaut photographs also feature the Houston and Galveston Bay area, including images of Houston at Night and the Houston Ship Channel area.
ISS024-E-10162	Gulf of Izmit, Turkey: One of the most industrialized areas of Turkey lies at the eastern edge of the Sea of Marmara, at the end of the Gulf of Izmit. The long, narrow waterway provides ship access to the cities of Izmit and Gölcük. This astronaut photograph highlights the metropolitan area of Izmit along the northern and eastern shores. Commercial and industrial centers—including petroleum refineries and automobile factories—are recognizable by large structures with white rooftops. The city of Izmit, then known as Nicomedia, was part of the Roman Empire and served as its easternmost capital before Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) assumed that role in 330 AD. Izmit is located approximately 83 kilometers (52 miles) to the east-southeast of Istanbul. The smaller city of Gölcük on the southern shoreline of the Gulf is the location of a Turkish naval facility and another automobile factory. Both urban areas are built primarily on flat lowlands adjacent to the Gulf, with green vegetation marking highland areas to the north of Izmit and south of Gölcük. Both the Izmit and Gölcük areas were severely damaged by a magnitude-7.4 earthquake on August 17, 1999, that resulted in over 17,000 fatalities. The earthquake occurred along the North Anatolian strike-slip fault that extends roughly east-west beneath the Gulf of Izmit.
ISS024-E-11914	Mataiva Atoll, Tuamotu Archipelago, South Pacific Ocean: The Tuamotu Archipelago is part of French Polynesia, and forms the largest chain of atolls in the world. This astronaut photograph features Mataiva Atoll, the westernmost atoll of the Tuamotu chain. An atoll is a ring-shaped island that encloses a central lagoon. This distinctive morphology is usually associated with oceanic islands formed by volcanoes; coral reefs become established around the partially submerged volcanic cone. Over geologic time the central volcano becomes extinct, followed by erosion and subsidence beneath the sea surface, leaving the coral reefs as a ring around (or cap on) the submerged island remnant. Coral reefs exposed above the sea surface in turn experience erosion, sedimentation, and soil formation, leading to the establishment of vegetation and complex ecosystems—including in many cases human habitation. Mataiva Atoll is notable in that its central lagoon includes a network of ridges (white, image center) and small basins formed from eroded coral reefs. Mataiva means “nine eyes” in Tuamotuan, an allusion to nine narrow channels on the south-central portion of the island. The atoll is sparsely populated, with only a single village—Pahua—located on either side of the only pass providing constant connection between the shallow (light blue) water of the lagoon and the deeper (dark blue) adjacent Pacific Ocean. Much of the 10-kilometer- (6-mile-) long atoll is covered with forest (greenish brown). Vanilla and copra (dried coconut) are major exports from the atoll, but tourism is becoming a larger part of the economy.
ISS024-E-12920	Hurricane Earl - The Astronaut View: The relatively placid view from the International Space Station belied the potent forces at work in Hurricane Earl as it hovered over the tropical Atlantic Ocean on August 30. With maximum sustained winds of 135 miles (215 kilometers) per hour, the storm was classified as a category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale as it passed north of the Virgin Islands. In this photograph captured with a digital SLR camera by NASA astronaut Douglas Wheelock, Earl had a distinct eye that spanned about 17 miles (28 kilometers). Most of the storm had a seemingly uniform top, though the bottom edge of the image gives some sense of the towering thunderheads forming over the ocean. The solar panels of the ISS remind us that the sun is still shining, at least on ISS Expedition 24. Around the time of the photograph on August 30, the National Hurricane Center reported that Earl was centered near latitude 19.3 degrees North, longitude 64.7 degrees West, about 110 miles (180 kilometers) northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The storm was moving west-northwest at 15 miles (24 km) per hour. On the same day, scientists participating in NASA's Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes field campaign snapped their own photos of the storm, which you can see here. "Hurricane Earl is gathering some serious strength," Wheelock wrote from his perch on ISS. "It is incredible what a difference a day makes when you’re dealing with this force of nature. Please keep a watchful eye on this one...not sure if Earl will go quietly into the night like Danielle."
ISS024-E-12425	Volcanic Landscapes, Central Andes: The landscape in the central Andes Mountains, near the border between Chile and Argentina, is dominated by volcanoes and associated landforms. Layers of older sedimentary rocks are visible to the upper middle, and many volcanic cones show grooves where water has eroded the rock to form gullies. Such erosion has occurred since the host volcano was built up, indicating that most volcanoes in this view have been inactive for centuries or millennia. A few volcanoes exhibit much less erosion, and even show tongues of dark, recent lava flows (upper left). Two of these volcanoes, Cerro el Cóndor and Peinado, have likely erupted within the past 12,000 years. Also visible is the world’s highest active volcano, Nevado Ojos del Salado, with a summit 6,887 meters (22,600 feet) above sea level. The most recent confirmed eruption has been dated to the year 700 (+/- 300 years), but minor eruptive activity may have occurred as recently as 1993. Stratovolcanoes such as Cerro el Cóndor, Peinado, and Nevado Ojos del Salado are formed partly by the buildup of lava flows and partly by the buildup of explosively vented material dropping back down onto the surface. One material associated with these eruptions is welded tuff, formed by molten and fragmented rock that accumulates on the ground and later solidifies. A large tuff sheet is visible at the top left. Formed very rapidly, these sheets have been termed “instant landscapes.” The Andean volcanic system has been so active that the origin of many tuffs cannot be pinpointed because the source vents have been overprinted by subsequent volcanic events. The landscape also shows that the erosive work of rivers and glaciers in the region is slower than the upward building processes of the volcanoes. The bright blue lake -- nearly 7 km (4.3 miles) long -- near the center of the image is Laguna Verde. This and other less obvious lakes indicate that water from snowmelt or direct precipitation is unable to reach the sea, being impounded in the depressions between the volcanic edifices.
ISS024-E-12749	Maseru, Lesotho: Maseru is the capital city of the Kingdom of Lesotho, and is located along the northwestern border of the country with the Republic of South Africa. The footprint of the urban area, recognizable by street grids and distinctive blue-roofed industrial buildings at image center, is only just visible against the surrounding landscape. The city has expanded eightfold (population 230,000 today) since independence from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1966, and is now home to one in five citizens of the country. The Caledon (or Mohokare) River flows adjacent to Maseru and forms a part of the border between Lesotho and South Africa. Locally, the border extends from approximately image top center left to image bottom center right, with the cities of Ladybrand and Manyatseng located in South Africa. Moshoeshoe International Airport (left) provides access to the capital. Major industries in the city include flour mills and footwear and textile companies. Tourism is also a growing part of the local economy. The Kingdom of Lesotho is completely landlocked by the surrounding Republic of South Africa. Major landforms visible in the image include the Qeme and Berea Plateaus, erosional remnants of horizontally layered sedimentary rocks that formed in the Karoo Basin approximately 200 – 229 million years ago during the Upper Triassic Period.

This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science Directorate. Recommended Citation: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth." .
	NASA Responsible Official: Susan Runco Curator: jsc-earthweb@mail.nasa.gov Contributors: Earth Sciences Web Team	National Aeronautics and Space Administration Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center	International Space Station National Laboratory Last Update:
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