Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights

STS-106 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights

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STS106-707-51 Aegean Sea: Crete (foreground), the Cyclades Islands, Greece and Turkey lie along the margin of the Eurasian and African tectonic plates; Africa is moving northward and being driven down beneath Eurasia. As a result volcanic islands, such as Santorini, develop and fault-bounded basisn such, as the Gulf of Corinth, are formed. In addition, lavas and sediments that were originally deposited on the Mediterranean seafloor are uplifted and deformed. The light-colored masses that extend along a NW-trending line from the Peloponnesos into the Balkans consist of such uplifted marine sediments.

STS106-719-48 Manam Volcano: Manam, with a plume of smoke attesting to its ongoing activity, is off the northeastern coast of Papua New Guinea and rises to an elevation of 1807 m. The first known eruption of Manam was in 1616, and in 1994 an explosive eruption sent ash and incandescent material 10 km into the air. Plumes of sediment enter the sea at the mouths of the Sepik (large river at left) and the Ramu Rivers (closer to Manam), following heavy rains from a recent tropical storm.

STS106-705-9 Karakoram Glaciers, Qogir Feng (K2): Qogir Feng (8611 m; also called K2 or Mt. Godwin Austen), second highest peak in the world, is at far upper left in this view of the northwestern Karakoram Range. The Tarim sedimentary basin borders the range on the north and the Lesser Himalayas on the south. Melt waters from vast glaciers, such as those south and east of K2, feed agriculture in the valleys (dark green) and contribute significantly to the regional fresh-water supply. The Karakoram Range lies along the southern edge of the Eurasian tectonic plate and is made up of ancient sedimentary rocks (more than 390 million years old). Those strata were folded and thrust-faulted, and granite masses were intruded, when the Indo-Pakistan plate collided with Eurasia, beginning more than 100 million years ago.

STS106-704-66 The Pyrenees: The Pyrenees (highest point 3404 m), extends from the Bay of Biscay (west) to the Gulf of Lyon (east); Spain lies south of the range, France is to the north, and Andorra is entirely within the range near the eastern snow patch. The Pyrenees began forming about 80 million years ago, during early stages of Eurasian-African plate collision; in contrast, the Cordillera Cantabrica, along the north coast of Spain, is a more deeply eroded ancient mountain chain that was uplifted roughly 320 million years ago. There is a long history of mining in the Pyrenees -- tin, tungsten, talc, fluorite, barium and gold, and petroleum is produced from the adjacent Aquitaine basin of France.

STS106-702-84 Rhine and Rhine Rifts, Alps: The Rhine and Rhone rift valleys, as well as the transform fault zone (between Basel, Switzerland and Dijon, France) that connects the two, are centered in the view with the snow-capped Alps in the far distance. The great folded and faulted ranges of the Alps began forming during Eurasian-African plate collision about 60 million years ago. Those structures in the western Alps are cut by younger (23 million years to present), north-trending Rhone rift faults, as well as by northeast-trending structures of the transform zone. The dark, forested Vosges (W) and Schwarzwald (E) uplifts flank the Rhine valley (east of center).

STS106-704-63 Typhoon Saomai: Typhoon Saomai was near the Marianas Islands when this photo was taken on September 9, 2000; the typhoon was classified as a Category 4 storm on that day, with sustained wind velocities of 120 knots and gusts to 145. On September 12, the storm hit Okinawa, then headed toward Shanghai. As Saomai approached land along the Korean coast on September 16, sustained winds had diminished to 45 knots.

STS106-710-60 Cape Cod, Massachusetts: Partial sunglint highlights the coastline and brings out subtle details in the waters around Massachusetts. The maximum advance of an ice sheet 23,000 years ago is marked by the unique shape of Cape Cod and by the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Rocks and debris left at the edges of the ice fronts made parts of the landscape slightly higher and more resistant to erosion. Glacial retreat and sea level rise covered the lower ground and gave us the more modern coastline that we are familiar with. The city of New Bedford can be located near the coast and just below the circular lakes of Long Pond, Great Quiittacas Pond, and Assawompset Pond.

STS106-709-16 Northeastern Coast of the United States: The crew of STS-106 was probably over the Great Lakes, looking southeast towards the coast when they took this panoramic photograph. Clouds almost touch the southern tip of the Delmarva peninsula. To the west of the peninsula is the Chesapeake Bay, to the north is the New Jersey peninsula. The most prominent city visible is Baltimore, along the coast of the Chesapeake. The Potomac River is identifiable because of its distinctive hook-shape. At the end of the "hook" is Washington DC. The dark green linear features further inland are the Appalachian Mountains.

STS106-314-23 International Space Station over the Tarim Basin: The three modules of the International Space Station (Zarya, Unity and Zvezda) are in orbit 204 nautical miles over the Taklimakan Desert of northern China. Beyond the desert lie the snowcrested Tien Shan mountains, erosion of these mountains produces dark-colored alluvial fans at the north edge of the tan-colored desert. The long, narrow lake seen far away at the horizon is Lake Balkash, Kazakhstan.

STS106-701-25 Cairo, Egypt: Cairo is the largest city in Africa. Its population is nearly 16 million people. This translates to approximately 130,000 people per square mile. On the photograph metropolitan Cairo shows as a gray area in the green of the Nile River valley at the apex of the Delta. The shadows of the three major pyramids at Giza on the Western edge of the city are visible. They are right below the bright new road construction. This side of the metropolitan area is experiencing rapid growth. This photograph documents some of the many changes in landuse in the Western Desert.

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

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International Space Station National Laboratory

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STS106-707-51	Aegean Sea: Crete (foreground), the Cyclades Islands, Greece and Turkey lie along the margin of the Eurasian and African tectonic plates; Africa is moving northward and being driven down beneath Eurasia. As a result volcanic islands, such as Santorini, develop and fault-bounded basisn such, as the Gulf of Corinth, are formed. In addition, lavas and sediments that were originally deposited on the Mediterranean seafloor are uplifted and deformed. The light-colored masses that extend along a NW-trending line from the Peloponnesos into the Balkans consist of such uplifted marine sediments.
STS106-719-48	Manam Volcano: Manam, with a plume of smoke attesting to its ongoing activity, is off the northeastern coast of Papua New Guinea and rises to an elevation of 1807 m. The first known eruption of Manam was in 1616, and in 1994 an explosive eruption sent ash and incandescent material 10 km into the air. Plumes of sediment enter the sea at the mouths of the Sepik (large river at left) and the Ramu Rivers (closer to Manam), following heavy rains from a recent tropical storm.
STS106-705-9	Karakoram Glaciers, Qogir Feng (K2): Qogir Feng (8611 m; also called K2 or Mt. Godwin Austen), second highest peak in the world, is at far upper left in this view of the northwestern Karakoram Range. The Tarim sedimentary basin borders the range on the north and the Lesser Himalayas on the south. Melt waters from vast glaciers, such as those south and east of K2, feed agriculture in the valleys (dark green) and contribute significantly to the regional fresh-water supply. The Karakoram Range lies along the southern edge of the Eurasian tectonic plate and is made up of ancient sedimentary rocks (more than 390 million years old). Those strata were folded and thrust-faulted, and granite masses were intruded, when the Indo-Pakistan plate collided with Eurasia, beginning more than 100 million years ago.
STS106-704-66	The Pyrenees: The Pyrenees (highest point 3404 m), extends from the Bay of Biscay (west) to the Gulf of Lyon (east); Spain lies south of the range, France is to the north, and Andorra is entirely within the range near the eastern snow patch. The Pyrenees began forming about 80 million years ago, during early stages of Eurasian-African plate collision; in contrast, the Cordillera Cantabrica, along the north coast of Spain, is a more deeply eroded ancient mountain chain that was uplifted roughly 320 million years ago. There is a long history of mining in the Pyrenees -- tin, tungsten, talc, fluorite, barium and gold, and petroleum is produced from the adjacent Aquitaine basin of France.
STS106-702-84	Rhine and Rhine Rifts, Alps: The Rhine and Rhone rift valleys, as well as the transform fault zone (between Basel, Switzerland and Dijon, France) that connects the two, are centered in the view with the snow-capped Alps in the far distance. The great folded and faulted ranges of the Alps began forming during Eurasian-African plate collision about 60 million years ago. Those structures in the western Alps are cut by younger (23 million years to present), north-trending Rhone rift faults, as well as by northeast-trending structures of the transform zone. The dark, forested Vosges (W) and Schwarzwald (E) uplifts flank the Rhine valley (east of center).
STS106-704-63	Typhoon Saomai: Typhoon Saomai was near the Marianas Islands when this photo was taken on September 9, 2000; the typhoon was classified as a Category 4 storm on that day, with sustained wind velocities of 120 knots and gusts to 145. On September 12, the storm hit Okinawa, then headed toward Shanghai. As Saomai approached land along the Korean coast on September 16, sustained winds had diminished to 45 knots.
STS106-710-60	Cape Cod, Massachusetts: Partial sunglint highlights the coastline and brings out subtle details in the waters around Massachusetts. The maximum advance of an ice sheet 23,000 years ago is marked by the unique shape of Cape Cod and by the islands of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Rocks and debris left at the edges of the ice fronts made parts of the landscape slightly higher and more resistant to erosion. Glacial retreat and sea level rise covered the lower ground and gave us the more modern coastline that we are familiar with. The city of New Bedford can be located near the coast and just below the circular lakes of Long Pond, Great Quiittacas Pond, and Assawompset Pond.
STS106-709-16	Northeastern Coast of the United States: The crew of STS-106 was probably over the Great Lakes, looking southeast towards the coast when they took this panoramic photograph. Clouds almost touch the southern tip of the Delmarva peninsula. To the west of the peninsula is the Chesapeake Bay, to the north is the New Jersey peninsula. The most prominent city visible is Baltimore, along the coast of the Chesapeake. The Potomac River is identifiable because of its distinctive hook-shape. At the end of the "hook" is Washington DC. The dark green linear features further inland are the Appalachian Mountains.
STS106-314-23	International Space Station over the Tarim Basin: The three modules of the International Space Station (Zarya, Unity and Zvezda) are in orbit 204 nautical miles over the Taklimakan Desert of northern China. Beyond the desert lie the snowcrested Tien Shan mountains, erosion of these mountains produces dark-colored alluvial fans at the north edge of the tan-colored desert. The long, narrow lake seen far away at the horizon is Lake Balkash, Kazakhstan.
STS106-701-25	Cairo, Egypt: Cairo is the largest city in Africa. Its population is nearly 16 million people. This translates to approximately 130,000 people per square mile. On the photograph metropolitan Cairo shows as a gray area in the green of the Nile River valley at the apex of the Delta. The shadows of the three major pyramids at Giza on the Western edge of the city are visible. They are right below the bright new road construction. This side of the metropolitan area is experiencing rapid growth. This photograph documents some of the many changes in landuse in the Western Desert.

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: Tracy Calhoun 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