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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS064-E-26355 Date: Jan. 2021
Geographic Region: USA-FLORIDA
Feature: TAMPA BAY, ST PETERSBURG, SUNSHINE SKYWAY BRIDGE

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In this photograph taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station (ISS), white wakes mark the paths of ships passing under the Sunshine Skyway, a main thoroughfare between parts of Tampa Bay. Appearing as a large bite out of the western coastline, Tampa Bay is one of the defining features of the Florida coast when viewed from the ISS by day and by night. The different shades of color in and around the bay illustrate variations in water depth and the movement of suspended sediment.

Until 1954, travel between the various cities within the Tampa Bay area was primarily ferry-based. The original Sunshine Skyway Bridge, stretching between St. Petersburg and Palmetto, sought to connect the regions of the bay. For a time it was the longest pre-stressed bridge in the United States, according to the Tampa Bay Times. After a major ship-related accident in 1980, the bridge was dismantled and turned into piers that now appear like branches when viewed from above. The piers stand on the southwestern side of the new bridge, also named the Sunshine Skyway.

In addition to the Skyway - the tallest manmade point in Tampa - smaller bridges have been built to connect other keys that lie around the mouth of Tampa Bay. The keys are small, sandy buildups on the surface coral reefs, and they have been joined by man-made islands and piers. Florida granted a multitude of dredge and fill permits in the mid-1900s, allowing developers to dig sand from the bay and use the material to augment and adapt the existing landscape. These developments have become densely populated neighborhoods between the undeveloped - and now often protected - natural keys.

 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 370k
Mission: ISS064  
Roll - Frame: E - 26355
Geographical Name: USA-FLORIDA  
Features: TAMPA BAY, ST PETERSBURG, SUNSHINE SKYWAY BRIDGE  
Center Lat x Lon: 27.7N x 82.7W
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera: N8
 
Camera Tilt: 26   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 800  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: SE   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number:  
 
Date: 20210123   YYYYMMDD
Time: 213042   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 28.7N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 84.2W  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 235   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 225   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 18   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views:  
Water Views:  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views:  
City Views:  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


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