STS-097 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights

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STS097-303-31

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: Downtown Melbourne(population 3.2 million people based on year 2000 estimate), is visible in this very detailed city view. Melbourne is the the second largest city in Australia, capital city and major seaport in the state of Victoria. A tremendous amount of the urban infrastructure can be seen, including the central business district, overall gridded street pattern, numerous highways and railroads, airports, and recreational facilities. Slight color differences throughout the image help to identify residential areas of the city from the commercial zones (clusters of more highly reflective surfaces). Downtown Melbourne can be identified by the concentration of tall buildings and the shadows cast by these buildings immediately northeast of the estuary (linear, dark feature). Several rivers and creeks are visible (dark, meandering lines) as they drain through the city and empty into the large estuary that forms the lower reaches of the Yarra River. Port Melbourne is located along the south side of the broad estuary. Several piers extend eastward from the peninsula that separates Hobson Bay (east) from Alton Bay (west) along the northern edge of Port Phillip Bay (the larger body of water). The dark features scattered throughout the urban builtup area are primarily open spaces such as parks and golf courses. The runways of Moorabbin Airport are located near the southeastern edge of the image, while the runways of a smaller airport are also visible northwest of the downtown area.

STS097-355-11

Torino and Milano at night, Italy: The night lights of Torino and Milano (two larger illuminated areas) are visible in this northwest view of the western end of the Po River Valley. Torino is the bright spot slightly left of center and Milano is the larger bright spot towards the bottom center of the image. The deeply eroded flanks of the snow-covered Alps Mountains (serrated-looking, light-colored terrain top half of the image) is visible north of the two large cities. Several mountain passes that connect the Po River Valley with France and Switzerland can be identified by the string of lights in the narrow, linear valleys. A translucent-looking cloud (bottom center) somewhat obscures the nighttime landscape south of Torino and Milano. The northwest coast of Italy, including the Italian city of Genova, can be identified in the lower left corner of the image. This photography was taken by astronauts using high speed film and long exposure on a night with a full moon illuminating the surface of the Earth.

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