Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights

STS-085 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights

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STS085-502-100 Sjaelland, Denmark: Sjaelland, Denmark. Remarkably clear view of the island and of Copenhagen, although the statue of The Little Mermaid at the entry to the harbor can't quite be discerned. Helsingor, on the northeast tip of Sjaelland within 2 miles of Sweden, is the Elsinore of Shakespeare's drama Hamlet, prince of the Danes. The south cape of Sweden, Falsterbo, and the city of Malmo can also be seen. The island in the Kattegat between Copenhagen and Malmo, on which there is a Swedish nuclear power plant, is bounded by a fault zone that has been active episodically for more than 560 million years. The prolongation of that fault farther northwest offsets sediments a few thousand years old.

STS085-503-61 Kazakhstan, central Asia: Lakes Balkhash and Alakol', southern uplands of Kazakhstan, central Asia. The long (600 km) arc of Lake Balkhash occupies the center of this clear WNW view of the southern Kazakh Uplands, Kazakhstan and westernmost Dzungarian Basin in the autonomous region of Xinjiang Uygur, China. The capitol city of Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan is out of sight behind the boom. The Dzungarian Gate is the straight, fault-bounded valley dropped down within t he Dzhungarskiy Alatau Range; lowest elevation on the valley floor is about 1,500 ft, whereas peaks of the range reach 15,000 ft on the west and about 10,000 ft on the east of the valley. Lake Ebinur is the bright area beneath the dust plume (left center); north winds funneled through the Dzungarian Gate have picked up sediment from dry lakebeds at the north end. The Ili River flows westward, parallel to the Dzhungarskiy Alatau Range, through Kapchagay Lake (partially visible beneath boom), then northwest across the delta plain and into Lake Balkhash. The Karatal River heads in the Dzhungarskiy Alatau mountains and flows north into Balkhash.

STS085-503-134 Denmark, Norway and Sweden: Oslo Fjord, Norway. Exceptional westward view of the fjord, southern Norway and Sweden, and the northern tip of Jutland, Denmark. Oslo is at the head of the narrow northern reach of the fjord (upper right), which originated by rifting about 275 million year ago. As in other rifts, the fjord walls are long and straight, volcanic vents mark the intersections of rift and crossing faults. The southern fjord widened still further when the North Atlantic opened about 60 million years ago.

STS085-503-135 Denmark, Norway and Sweden: Denmark. Splendid photograph of the peninsula of Jutland, the island of Sjaelland and parts of Mon, Lolland and Fyn. Near the top of the view, the Skaggerak separates Norway and Denmark; in the foreground, the Kattegat lies between Sweden and Denmark. Both glaciers and the rise of salt domes, similar to those of the Texas (e.g., High Island, eastern Galveston Bay) and Louisiana coastal plain, have contributed to the irregularity of the topography of Jutland.

STS085-506-95 Manicouagan Lake, Quebec: Manicouagan Lake, Quebec, is one of the largest impact craters still preserved on the Earth's surface. The area of target rocks, where the ringed lake is now situated, is approximately 70 km in diameter, and composed of impact-brecciated rock eroded by glaciation. The lake surrounds the more erosion-resistant melt sheet in the center of the crater. The impact origin of the crater was confirmed with the discovery of maskelynite in the central uplift. The original crater diameter is 100 km and Manicouagan has been dated at 212 million years. It has been proposed that the impact was created by an asteroid with a diameter of 5 km. Some scientists believe that this impact may have been responsible for a mass extinction at the end of the Triassic, where roughly 60% of all species were lost.

STS085-705-62 Great Salt Lake, Utah: The Great Salt is one of the most saline inland bodies of water in the world and is the largest inland body of salt water in the Western Hemisphere. The lake is fed by three rivers (Bear, Weber and Jordon) and has no outlet. The water level varies with the amount of rainfall and evaporation in the basin. The distinct line across the center of the lake is the Lucin Cutoff. It is a 30 mile (48 km), east-west causeway built in 1959 to support a rail line. The causeway connects the cities of Ogden and Lucin and affects the water level of the lake. Because the lake's main tributaries enter from the south, the water level of the southern section is several inches higher than that of the northern part. The Great Salt Lake's record high levels in the mid- 1980s threatened the Lucin Cutoff, highways and sewage-treatment plants along the shore-in 1987 pumps were installed that began draining some of the excess water into the Great Salt Lake Desert to the west. The resulting new body of water was called the Newfoundland Evaporation Basin-it contains dissolved minerals, primarily sodium and chloride along with sulfate, magnesium, and potassium. The dissolved minerals, turbidity and microorganisms which can survive in saline water give the lake its varying colors. In this photo the north portion is dark red. The crew said that it looked like dirt when they first saw it. Crews cannot remember the north portion ever looking so red-it is usually a light blue color.

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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

STS085-502-100	Sjaelland, Denmark: Sjaelland, Denmark. Remarkably clear view of the island and of Copenhagen, although the statue of The Little Mermaid at the entry to the harbor can't quite be discerned. Helsingor, on the northeast tip of Sjaelland within 2 miles of Sweden, is the Elsinore of Shakespeare's drama Hamlet, prince of the Danes. The south cape of Sweden, Falsterbo, and the city of Malmo can also be seen. The island in the Kattegat between Copenhagen and Malmo, on which there is a Swedish nuclear power plant, is bounded by a fault zone that has been active episodically for more than 560 million years. The prolongation of that fault farther northwest offsets sediments a few thousand years old.
STS085-503-61	Kazakhstan, central Asia: Lakes Balkhash and Alakol', southern uplands of Kazakhstan, central Asia. The long (600 km) arc of Lake Balkhash occupies the center of this clear WNW view of the southern Kazakh Uplands, Kazakhstan and westernmost Dzungarian Basin in the autonomous region of Xinjiang Uygur, China. The capitol city of Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan is out of sight behind the boom. The Dzungarian Gate is the straight, fault-bounded valley dropped down within t he Dzhungarskiy Alatau Range; lowest elevation on the valley floor is about 1,500 ft, whereas peaks of the range reach 15,000 ft on the west and about 10,000 ft on the east of the valley. Lake Ebinur is the bright area beneath the dust plume (left center); north winds funneled through the Dzungarian Gate have picked up sediment from dry lakebeds at the north end. The Ili River flows westward, parallel to the Dzhungarskiy Alatau Range, through Kapchagay Lake (partially visible beneath boom), then northwest across the delta plain and into Lake Balkhash. The Karatal River heads in the Dzhungarskiy Alatau mountains and flows north into Balkhash.
STS085-503-134	Denmark, Norway and Sweden: Oslo Fjord, Norway. Exceptional westward view of the fjord, southern Norway and Sweden, and the northern tip of Jutland, Denmark. Oslo is at the head of the narrow northern reach of the fjord (upper right), which originated by rifting about 275 million year ago. As in other rifts, the fjord walls are long and straight, volcanic vents mark the intersections of rift and crossing faults. The southern fjord widened still further when the North Atlantic opened about 60 million years ago.
STS085-503-135	Denmark, Norway and Sweden: Denmark. Splendid photograph of the peninsula of Jutland, the island of Sjaelland and parts of Mon, Lolland and Fyn. Near the top of the view, the Skaggerak separates Norway and Denmark; in the foreground, the Kattegat lies between Sweden and Denmark. Both glaciers and the rise of salt domes, similar to those of the Texas (e.g., High Island, eastern Galveston Bay) and Louisiana coastal plain, have contributed to the irregularity of the topography of Jutland.
STS085-506-95	Manicouagan Lake, Quebec: Manicouagan Lake, Quebec, is one of the largest impact craters still preserved on the Earth's surface. The area of target rocks, where the ringed lake is now situated, is approximately 70 km in diameter, and composed of impact-brecciated rock eroded by glaciation. The lake surrounds the more erosion-resistant melt sheet in the center of the crater. The impact origin of the crater was confirmed with the discovery of maskelynite in the central uplift. The original crater diameter is 100 km and Manicouagan has been dated at 212 million years. It has been proposed that the impact was created by an asteroid with a diameter of 5 km. Some scientists believe that this impact may have been responsible for a mass extinction at the end of the Triassic, where roughly 60% of all species were lost.
STS085-705-62	Great Salt Lake, Utah: The Great Salt is one of the most saline inland bodies of water in the world and is the largest inland body of salt water in the Western Hemisphere. The lake is fed by three rivers (Bear, Weber and Jordon) and has no outlet. The water level varies with the amount of rainfall and evaporation in the basin. The distinct line across the center of the lake is the Lucin Cutoff. It is a 30 mile (48 km), east-west causeway built in 1959 to support a rail line. The causeway connects the cities of Ogden and Lucin and affects the water level of the lake. Because the lake's main tributaries enter from the south, the water level of the southern section is several inches higher than that of the northern part. The Great Salt Lake's record high levels in the mid- 1980s threatened the Lucin Cutoff, highways and sewage-treatment plants along the shore-in 1987 pumps were installed that began draining some of the excess water into the Great Salt Lake Desert to the west. The resulting new body of water was called the Newfoundland Evaporation Basin-it contains dissolved minerals, primarily sodium and chloride along with sulfate, magnesium, and potassium. The dissolved minerals, turbidity and microorganisms which can survive in saline water give the lake its varying colors. In this photo the north portion is dark red. The crew said that it looked like dirt when they first saw it. Crews cannot remember the north portion ever looking so red-it is usually a light blue color.

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