Astronaut Photography of Earth - Display Record
STS117-E-6998
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| File Name | File Size (bytes) | Width | Height | Annotated | Cropped | Purpose | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View | STS117-E-6998.JPG | 35387 | 639 | 435 | No | No | ||
| View | STS117-E-6998.JPG | 125959 | 540 | 357 | No | Yes | NASA's Earth Observatory web site | |
| View | STS117-E-6998.JPG | 488396 | 1000 | 661 | No | Yes | NASA's Earth Observatory web site | |
| View | STS117-E-6998.JPG | 1007939 | 3032 | 2064 | No | No |
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Electronic Image Data
Camera Files >> No sound file available.Identification
Mission: STS117 Roll: E Frame: 6998 Mission ID on the Film or image: STS117Country or Geographic Name: CLOUDS
Features: POLAR MESOSPHERIC CLOUDS
Center Point Latitude: Center Point Longitude: (Negative numbers indicate south for latitude and west for longitude)
Stereo: (Yes indicates there is an adjacent picture of the same area)
ONC Map ID: JNC Map ID:
Camera
Camera Tilt: High ObliqueCamera Focal Length: 180mm
Camera: E4: Kodak DCS760C Electronic Still Camera
Film: 3060E : 3060 x 2036 pixel CCD, RGBG array.
Quality
Film Exposure:Percentage of Cloud Cover: 10 (0-10)
Nadir
Date: 20070610 (YYYYMMDD)GMT Time: 191140 (HHMMSS)Nadir Point Latitude: 41.5, Longitude: 86.0 (Negative numbers indicate south for latitude and west for longitude)
Nadir to Photo Center Direction:
Sun Azimuth: 14 (Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point)
Spacecraft Altitude: 181 nautical miles (335 km)
Sun Elevation Angle: -24 (Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point)
Orbit Number: 30
Captions
Polar Mesospheric CloudsIn the summertime in the far northern or southern latitudes, high in the Earth’s atmosphere at the edge of space, thin, silvery clouds sometimes become visible just after sunset. These high clouds, occurring at altitudes of about 80 kilometers (50 miles), are called polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs). They are also called noctilucent (“night-shining”) clouds. In recent years, polar mesospheric clouds seem to be occurring more frequently and at lower latitudes than they have in the past, and studies are underway to determine whether their occurrence is related to global climate change.
In June 2007, the Space Shuttle crew visiting the International Space Station (ISS) observed spectacular polar mesospheric clouds over north-central Asia (top). This image was taken looking north while the Shuttle and ISS were docking and flying over the border between western China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. The red-to-dark region at the bottom of the image is the dense part of the Earth’s atmosphere. Because this image was taken with a long lens (180mm), the entire profile of the Earth’s limb (the edge of the atmosphere) was not captured.
Astronauts frequently observe polar mesospheric clouds over Canada, northern Europe, and Asia during June, July and August. While polar mesospheric clouds also occur over high latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere summer, astronaut observations of southern clouds are less frequent. Studies of polar mesospheric clouds are part of the research activities for the International Polar Year (IPY); to support IPY research, ISS astronauts will be looking for and documenting polar mesospheric clouds in both hemispheres. NASA’s AIM (short for “Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere”) mission is also studying polar mesospheric clouds.
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