ISS066-E-37532
| NASA Photo ID | ISS066-E-37532 |
| Focal Length | 600mm |
| Date taken | 2021.11.04 |
| Time taken | 10:47:51 GMT |
4928 x 2768 pixels 720 x 480 pixels 4928 x 2768 pixels 640 x 359 pixels
Photo center point:
Photo center point by machine learning:
Country or Geographic Name: | |
Features: | |
| Features Found Using Machine Learning: | PAN- |
Cloud Cover Percentage: | 13 (11-25)% |
Sun Elevation Angle: | 2° |
Sun Azimuth: | 112° |
Camera: | NIKON D4 S/N: 2071160 |
Focal Length: | 600mm |
Camera Tilt: | |
Format: | |
Film Exposure: | |
| Additional Information | Image acquired by ISS External High Definition Camera |
| Width | Height | Annotated | Cropped | Purpose | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4928 pixels | 2768 pixels | No | No | Download Image | |
| 720 pixels | 480 pixels | Yes | Yes | Download Image | |
| 4928 pixels | 2768 pixels | No | No | Download Image | |
| 640 pixels | 359 pixels | No | No | Download Image |
This oblique image looking eastward toward the sunlight of dawn was taken by an External High-Definition Camera (EHDC) on the International Space Station. The station was orbiting over the northwest Atlantic Ocean, about 500 kilometers (300 miles) off the coast off Nova Scotia. Numerous small clouds cover the foreground of the image. Each cloud represents in visible form (due to water droplets) a rising column of air. These are known as towering cumulus clouds.
Some very large thunderstorms appear toward the background of the photo, and several have extensive "table-top" features known as anvil clouds. These flat cloud surfaces develop when rising air reaches a level in the atmosphere where it is prevented from rising further (known as an inversion layer). At this level the cloud is forced to expand sideways, thus developing an anvil shape that can spread horizontally for tens of kilometers. Two of the towering cumulus near the center of the photo have just reached this altitude and have begun to spread out horizontally.
The image captures fine details of the cloud structures because the camera was looking partly towards the light source. This photographic technique reveals the cloud shadows, and this contrasts strongly with the brighter cloud tops. The shadows also contrast with the light of dawn reflected off the sea surface.
