Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights

STS-093 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights

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STS093-704-87 Laguna Verde, Chile: Laguna Verde, in the Atacama Province of Chile near the Argentine border, lays like a turquoise jewel among the stark black and white snow covered volcanic peaks of the High Andes in this very low angle, early morning shot. The ambient elevation in this part of the Andes is 16,000 ft.(4877 m.) with the highest local peak, Nevada Ojas de Salado (just to the right of the lake) reaching to 23,240 ft. (7084 m.) This same region is pictured in STS93-715-06.

STS093-708-37 Sunset over the Atlantic: Sunset paints the ocean and low clouds with brilliant color and shadow just off the eastern coast of Brazil in the western South Atlantic. Since one orbit of the shuttle around the Earth only takes 90 minutes, every 45 minutes the astronauts can witness a sunrise or sunset.

STS093-708-62 Sarawak: The Island of Borneo is divided among three countries: Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. The Rajang River meets the South China Sea in the northwestern portion of the Malaysian State of Sarawak. Smoke from both large and small fires is blowing north by the prevailing summer winds. Notice the contrast of dark colored rainforest with the lighter clearings where the largest fires are burning. The sediment plumes along the coast are mostly shoreline erosional material caught up in longshore currents. The smaller river at the bottom is the Saribas.

STS093-709-46 Melville Island, Australia: Melville Island (bottom) and Bathurst Island are across Clarence Strait just north of the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. In 1978, ownership of Melville passed from the Ausrtalian government to the remaining indigenous Aboriginal people, the Tiwi. Seasonal fires are common in the region; winter is the season for agricultural land clearing of the native monsoonal forests. Smoke from the fires on the islands is being blown NW by the prevailing winter winds.

STS093-709-51 Manam Volcano: The volcanic island of Manam, along the northeast coast of Papua New Guinea, is one in a string of currently active volcanoes called the Bismarck Arc. Manam is the most active of the group and began its present activity in 1994. The plume of steam and ash streaming from its crater extends more than 20 miles into the atmosphere.

STS093-715-6 High Andes: The early morning sun highlights Laguna Verde and the High Andes of the Atacama Province of Chile and the Catamarca Province of Argentina. The jewel-like Laguna Verde (center left) sits amid apparent east-west lines of volcanic peaks that average 19,000 ft (5791 m) elevation. At the upper right are darker mountains of folded and thrusted rocks. The light colored areas at the bottom are Salar de Perdenales (left) and Salar de Maricunga (right). Salars, which are common in the Andes, are salty lakebeds that are usually dry. The prevailing wind direction (out of the west) is clearly discernible at the edges of the salars. This image covers the same region as STS93-704-87.

STS093-716-65 Coast of Madagascar: Sunrise on the Mozambique Channel along the coast of Madagascar. The nearest point of land is Cape Saint Andre, which forms the NW corner of the island. Here sunglint highlights the land-water boundary along a series of dynamic estuaries. The fifth inlet from the bottom just above the small lake is the Betsiboka Estuary. It is easily recognizable from space and its changes have been captured in numerous photographs over the course of the Space program.

STS093-717-66 Society Islands: Delicate coral reefs ring the Society Islands of Bora Bora (top), Tahaa (center) and Raiatea (bottom). The Society Islands, which also include the island of Tahiti, are one of five archipelagoes that constitute French Polynesia in the central South Pacific.

STS093-722-51 Madagascar: The distinctive arrowhead shape of the northern tip of the island of Madagascar is easily recognizable. Notice that the land appears red with patches of dark green on the upper slopes. The dark areas are the remnants of forests and the red areas are cleared land.

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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

STS093-704-87	Laguna Verde, Chile: Laguna Verde, in the Atacama Province of Chile near the Argentine border, lays like a turquoise jewel among the stark black and white snow covered volcanic peaks of the High Andes in this very low angle, early morning shot. The ambient elevation in this part of the Andes is 16,000 ft.(4877 m.) with the highest local peak, Nevada Ojas de Salado (just to the right of the lake) reaching to 23,240 ft. (7084 m.) This same region is pictured in STS93-715-06.
STS093-708-37	Sunset over the Atlantic: Sunset paints the ocean and low clouds with brilliant color and shadow just off the eastern coast of Brazil in the western South Atlantic. Since one orbit of the shuttle around the Earth only takes 90 minutes, every 45 minutes the astronauts can witness a sunrise or sunset.
STS093-708-62	Sarawak: The Island of Borneo is divided among three countries: Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. The Rajang River meets the South China Sea in the northwestern portion of the Malaysian State of Sarawak. Smoke from both large and small fires is blowing north by the prevailing summer winds. Notice the contrast of dark colored rainforest with the lighter clearings where the largest fires are burning. The sediment plumes along the coast are mostly shoreline erosional material caught up in longshore currents. The smaller river at the bottom is the Saribas.
STS093-709-46	Melville Island, Australia: Melville Island (bottom) and Bathurst Island are across Clarence Strait just north of the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. In 1978, ownership of Melville passed from the Ausrtalian government to the remaining indigenous Aboriginal people, the Tiwi. Seasonal fires are common in the region; winter is the season for agricultural land clearing of the native monsoonal forests. Smoke from the fires on the islands is being blown NW by the prevailing winter winds.
STS093-709-51	Manam Volcano: The volcanic island of Manam, along the northeast coast of Papua New Guinea, is one in a string of currently active volcanoes called the Bismarck Arc. Manam is the most active of the group and began its present activity in 1994. The plume of steam and ash streaming from its crater extends more than 20 miles into the atmosphere.
STS093-715-6	High Andes: The early morning sun highlights Laguna Verde and the High Andes of the Atacama Province of Chile and the Catamarca Province of Argentina. The jewel-like Laguna Verde (center left) sits amid apparent east-west lines of volcanic peaks that average 19,000 ft (5791 m) elevation. At the upper right are darker mountains of folded and thrusted rocks. The light colored areas at the bottom are Salar de Perdenales (left) and Salar de Maricunga (right). Salars, which are common in the Andes, are salty lakebeds that are usually dry. The prevailing wind direction (out of the west) is clearly discernible at the edges of the salars. This image covers the same region as STS93-704-87.
STS093-716-65	Coast of Madagascar: Sunrise on the Mozambique Channel along the coast of Madagascar. The nearest point of land is Cape Saint Andre, which forms the NW corner of the island. Here sunglint highlights the land-water boundary along a series of dynamic estuaries. The fifth inlet from the bottom just above the small lake is the Betsiboka Estuary. It is easily recognizable from space and its changes have been captured in numerous photographs over the course of the Space program.
STS093-717-66	Society Islands: Delicate coral reefs ring the Society Islands of Bora Bora (top), Tahaa (center) and Raiatea (bottom). The Society Islands, which also include the island of Tahiti, are one of five archipelagoes that constitute French Polynesia in the central South Pacific.
STS093-722-51	Madagascar: The distinctive arrowhead shape of the northern tip of the island of Madagascar is easily recognizable. Notice that the land appears red with patches of dark green on the upper slopes. The dark areas are the remnants of forests and the red areas are cleared land.

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