Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights

ISS034 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights

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ISS034-E-35548 Reno, Nevada, at Night: Known as “the biggest little city in the world,” the city of Reno is located in Truckee Meadows, along the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada near the California border. It forms part of the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area—the largest such area in northern Nevada, and the second largest in the state after Las Vegas. Lake Tahoe, a major destination for skiing and other outdoor recreational activities, is located less than 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the southwest of Reno-Sparks.
The relatively isolated nature of the city within the surrounding terrain is highlighted in this night time image taken from the International Space Station. The major industrial and commercial areas of both Reno and Sparks are brightly lit at image center. The major street grid is visible as orange linear features adjacent to the industrial/commercial areas. Residential areas appear dark in contrast. The Reno-Tahoe International Airport is visible as a dark, dagger-shaped region in the southeast quarter of the metropolitan area.
At the time this astronaut photograph was taken, the Moon was in a waning gibbous phase (98 percent of a full moon). Moonlight provided enough illumination of the ground so that the topography (accentuated by snow cover) surrounding the Reno-Sparks area is clearly visible following color enhancement.

ISS034-E-32377 Internal Waves off Northern Trinidad: This photograph, taken from the International Space Station (ISS), shows the north coast of Trinidad and a series of subtle, interacting arcs in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. These are known as “internal waves,” the surface manifestation of slow waves that move tens of meters beneath the sea surface. Internal waves produce enough of an effect on the sea surface to be seen from space, but only where they are enhanced due to reflection of sunlight, or sunglint, back towards the International Space Station.
The image shows at least three sets of internal waves interacting. The most prominent set (image top left) shows a packet of several waves moving from the northwest due to the tidal flow towards the north coast of Trinidad. Two less prominent, younger sets can be seen further out to sea. A very broad set enters the view from the north and northeast, and interacts at image top center with the first set. All the internal waves are probably caused by the shelf break near Tobago (outside the image to top right). The shelf break is the step between shallow seas (around continents and islands) and the deep ocean. It is the line at which tides usually start to generate internal waves.
Over the island of Trinidad, the heating of the land surface sets off the growth of cumulus clouds. Off the coast, a light blue northwest-southeast trending plume at image center is sediment embedded in the Equatorial Current (also known as the Guyana Current). The current is transporting material to the northwest—in almost the opposite direction of the internal waves. The current flows strongly from east to west around Trinidad, all the way from equatorial Africa, driven by year-round easterly winds. Seafarers in the vicinity of Trinidad are warned that the current—and its local reverse eddies—make navigation complicated and sometimes dangerous for smaller craft in these waters.
Astronauts also have observed internal waves in other parts of the world, such as San Francisco and the Strait of Gibraltar.

ISS034-E-27139 Sakurajima Volcano, Kyushu, Japan: This photograph, taken from the International Space Station, highlights one of Japan’s most active volcanoes. Sakurajima began forming approximately 13,000 years ago; prior to 1914, it was an island in Kagoshima Bay. Sakurajima was joined to the mainland by the deposition of volcanic material following a major eruption in 1914.
Several craters lie near the 1,117-meter summit of Sakurajima. The northernmost crater, Kita-dake, last erupted approximately 5,000 years ago; to the south, Minami-dake and Showa craters have been the site of frequent eruptions since at least the eighth century. The ash plume visible near the volcano’s summit may have originated from either Minami-dake or Showa.
This image highlights the proximity of several large urban areas—Aira, Kagoshima, Kanoya, Kirishima, and Miyakonojo—to Sakurajima. This has prompted studies of potential health hazards presented by the volcanic ash (such as Hillman et al. 2012), and those findings are particularly important if more powerful explosive eruptive activity resumes. The Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) of the Japan Meteorological Agency issues advisories when eruptions occur. An advisory on the activity in this image was issued less than one hour before the astronaut took the photograph, by which time the plume tail had encountered northeast-trending upper-level winds.

ISS034-E-24622 Polar Mesospheric Clouds, South Pacific Ocean: Polar mesospheric clouds—also known as noctilucent or “night shining” clouds—form between 76 to 85 kilometers (47 to 53 miles) above the Earth’s surface, near the boundary of the mesosphere and thermosphere, a region known as the mesopause. At these altitudes, water vapor can freeze into clouds of ice crystals. When the Sun is below the horizon and the ground is in darkness, these high clouds may still be illuminated, lending them their ethereal, “night shining” qualities.
Polar mesospheric clouds have been observed from all human vantage points in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres—from the surface, in aircraft, and from the International Space Station (ISS) —and tend to be most visible during the late spring and early summer. Some atmospheric scientists seek to understand their mechanisms of formation, while others have identified them as potential indicators of atmospheric changes resulting from increases in greenhouse gas concentrations.
This astronaut photograph was taken when the ISS was over the Pacific Ocean south of French Polynesia. While most polar mesospheric cloud images are taken from the ISS with relatively short focal length lenses (to maximize the field of view), this image was taken with a long lens (400 mm) allowing for additional detail of the cloud forms. Below the brightly-lit noctilucent clouds, across the center of the image, the pale orange band is the stratosphere.

ISS034-E-5935 Liege at Night: To paraphrase an old expression: “all roads lead to Ličge.” Or at least you could get that impression from this astronaut photograph. The brightly lit core of the Ličge urban area appears to lie at the center of a network of roadways—traceable by continuous orange lighting extending out into the rural and relatively dark Belgian countryside. For a sense of scale, the distance from image left to right is approximately 70 kilometers (43 miles). The region to the southeast of Verviers includes agricultural fields and forest; hence, it appears almost uniformly dark at night.
The image was taken using the European Space Agency’s Nodding mechanism on the International Space Station (ISS), also known as the NightPod. This electro-mechanical mount system for digital cameras was designed to compensate for the motion of the ISS relative to the Earth. The primary goal was to take high-resolution, long-exposure digital imagery of the Earth from the ISS Cupola, particularly cities at night. While the official NightPod mission has been completed, the mechanism remains onboard for astronauts to use.
Ličge is the third most populous metro area in Belgium, after Brussels and Antwerp. It includes 52 municipalities and the nearby city of Seraing. It is also an important economic center for the country, home to a diverse array of industries including mechanical, information and biotechnology; beer and chocolate; light armaments; and steel-making. The metropolitan area also boasts a wide array of cultural, historical, and artistic attractions that make it a popular destination for residents of France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

ISS034-E-5496 Plume Rises from Ulawun: Numerous volcanoes contribute to the landmass of the island of New Britain, the largest in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. One of the most active of these volcanoes—Ulawun—is also the highest, with a summit elevation of 2,334 meters (7,657 feet).
This astronaut photograph was taken during the most recent phase of volcanic activity at Ulawun. A white steam and ash plume extends from the summit crater of the stratovolcano towards the northwest.The plume begins to broaden as it passes the southwestern coast of Lolobau Island approximately 23 kilometers downwind from its source. Note the image is oriented such that north is towards the lower left.
Ulawun volcano is also known as “the Father,” with the Bamus volcano to the southwest also known as “the South Son.” The summit of Bamus is obscured by white cumulus clouds (not of volcanic origin) in this image. While Ulawun has been active since at least 1700, the most recent eruptive activity at Bamus occurred in the late 19th century. A large region of ocean surface highlighted by sunglint—sunlight reflecting off the water surface, lending it a mirror-like appearance—is visible to the north-northeast of Ulawun (image lower left).

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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:

Server: 1

ISS034-E-35548	Reno, Nevada, at Night: Known as “the biggest little city in the world,” the city of Reno is located in Truckee Meadows, along the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada near the California border. It forms part of the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area—the largest such area in northern Nevada, and the second largest in the state after Las Vegas. Lake Tahoe, a major destination for skiing and other outdoor recreational activities, is located less than 50 kilometers (30 miles) to the southwest of Reno-Sparks. The relatively isolated nature of the city within the surrounding terrain is highlighted in this night time image taken from the International Space Station. The major industrial and commercial areas of both Reno and Sparks are brightly lit at image center. The major street grid is visible as orange linear features adjacent to the industrial/commercial areas. Residential areas appear dark in contrast. The Reno-Tahoe International Airport is visible as a dark, dagger-shaped region in the southeast quarter of the metropolitan area. At the time this astronaut photograph was taken, the Moon was in a waning gibbous phase (98 percent of a full moon). Moonlight provided enough illumination of the ground so that the topography (accentuated by snow cover) surrounding the Reno-Sparks area is clearly visible following color enhancement.
ISS034-E-32377	Internal Waves off Northern Trinidad: This photograph, taken from the International Space Station (ISS), shows the north coast of Trinidad and a series of subtle, interacting arcs in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. These are known as “internal waves,” the surface manifestation of slow waves that move tens of meters beneath the sea surface. Internal waves produce enough of an effect on the sea surface to be seen from space, but only where they are enhanced due to reflection of sunlight, or sunglint, back towards the International Space Station. The image shows at least three sets of internal waves interacting. The most prominent set (image top left) shows a packet of several waves moving from the northwest due to the tidal flow towards the north coast of Trinidad. Two less prominent, younger sets can be seen further out to sea. A very broad set enters the view from the north and northeast, and interacts at image top center with the first set. All the internal waves are probably caused by the shelf break near Tobago (outside the image to top right). The shelf break is the step between shallow seas (around continents and islands) and the deep ocean. It is the line at which tides usually start to generate internal waves. Over the island of Trinidad, the heating of the land surface sets off the growth of cumulus clouds. Off the coast, a light blue northwest-southeast trending plume at image center is sediment embedded in the Equatorial Current (also known as the Guyana Current). The current is transporting material to the northwest—in almost the opposite direction of the internal waves. The current flows strongly from east to west around Trinidad, all the way from equatorial Africa, driven by year-round easterly winds. Seafarers in the vicinity of Trinidad are warned that the current—and its local reverse eddies—make navigation complicated and sometimes dangerous for smaller craft in these waters. Astronauts also have observed internal waves in other parts of the world, such as San Francisco and the Strait of Gibraltar.
ISS034-E-27139	Sakurajima Volcano, Kyushu, Japan: This photograph, taken from the International Space Station, highlights one of Japan’s most active volcanoes. Sakurajima began forming approximately 13,000 years ago; prior to 1914, it was an island in Kagoshima Bay. Sakurajima was joined to the mainland by the deposition of volcanic material following a major eruption in 1914. Several craters lie near the 1,117-meter summit of Sakurajima. The northernmost crater, Kita-dake, last erupted approximately 5,000 years ago; to the south, Minami-dake and Showa craters have been the site of frequent eruptions since at least the eighth century. The ash plume visible near the volcano’s summit may have originated from either Minami-dake or Showa. This image highlights the proximity of several large urban areas—Aira, Kagoshima, Kanoya, Kirishima, and Miyakonojo—to Sakurajima. This has prompted studies of potential health hazards presented by the volcanic ash (such as Hillman et al. 2012), and those findings are particularly important if more powerful explosive eruptive activity resumes. The Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) of the Japan Meteorological Agency issues advisories when eruptions occur. An advisory on the activity in this image was issued less than one hour before the astronaut took the photograph, by which time the plume tail had encountered northeast-trending upper-level winds.
ISS034-E-24622	Polar Mesospheric Clouds, South Pacific Ocean: Polar mesospheric clouds—also known as noctilucent or “night shining” clouds—form between 76 to 85 kilometers (47 to 53 miles) above the Earth’s surface, near the boundary of the mesosphere and thermosphere, a region known as the mesopause. At these altitudes, water vapor can freeze into clouds of ice crystals. When the Sun is below the horizon and the ground is in darkness, these high clouds may still be illuminated, lending them their ethereal, “night shining” qualities. Polar mesospheric clouds have been observed from all human vantage points in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres—from the surface, in aircraft, and from the International Space Station (ISS) —and tend to be most visible during the late spring and early summer. Some atmospheric scientists seek to understand their mechanisms of formation, while others have identified them as potential indicators of atmospheric changes resulting from increases in greenhouse gas concentrations. This astronaut photograph was taken when the ISS was over the Pacific Ocean south of French Polynesia. While most polar mesospheric cloud images are taken from the ISS with relatively short focal length lenses (to maximize the field of view), this image was taken with a long lens (400 mm) allowing for additional detail of the cloud forms. Below the brightly-lit noctilucent clouds, across the center of the image, the pale orange band is the stratosphere.
ISS034-E-5935	Liege at Night: To paraphrase an old expression: “all roads lead to Ličge.” Or at least you could get that impression from this astronaut photograph. The brightly lit core of the Ličge urban area appears to lie at the center of a network of roadways—traceable by continuous orange lighting extending out into the rural and relatively dark Belgian countryside. For a sense of scale, the distance from image left to right is approximately 70 kilometers (43 miles). The region to the southeast of Verviers includes agricultural fields and forest; hence, it appears almost uniformly dark at night. The image was taken using the European Space Agency’s Nodding mechanism on the International Space Station (ISS), also known as the NightPod. This electro-mechanical mount system for digital cameras was designed to compensate for the motion of the ISS relative to the Earth. The primary goal was to take high-resolution, long-exposure digital imagery of the Earth from the ISS Cupola, particularly cities at night. While the official NightPod mission has been completed, the mechanism remains onboard for astronauts to use. Ličge is the third most populous metro area in Belgium, after Brussels and Antwerp. It includes 52 municipalities and the nearby city of Seraing. It is also an important economic center for the country, home to a diverse array of industries including mechanical, information and biotechnology; beer and chocolate; light armaments; and steel-making. The metropolitan area also boasts a wide array of cultural, historical, and artistic attractions that make it a popular destination for residents of France, Germany, and the Netherlands.
ISS034-E-5496	Plume Rises from Ulawun: Numerous volcanoes contribute to the landmass of the island of New Britain, the largest in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. One of the most active of these volcanoes—Ulawun—is also the highest, with a summit elevation of 2,334 meters (7,657 feet). This astronaut photograph was taken during the most recent phase of volcanic activity at Ulawun. A white steam and ash plume extends from the summit crater of the stratovolcano towards the northwest.The plume begins to broaden as it passes the southwestern coast of Lolobau Island approximately 23 kilometers downwind from its source. Note the image is oriented such that north is towards the lower left. Ulawun volcano is also known as “the Father,” with the Bamus volcano to the southwest also known as “the South Son.” The summit of Bamus is obscured by white cumulus clouds (not of volcanic origin) in this image. While Ulawun has been active since at least 1700, the most recent eruptive activity at Bamus occurred in the late 19th century. A large region of ocean surface highlighted by sunglint—sunlight reflecting off the water surface, lending it a mirror-like appearance—is visible to the north-northeast of Ulawun (image lower left).

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:
Server: 1