ISS051-E-12977
| NASA Photo ID | ISS051-E-12977 |
| Focal Length | 1150mm |
| Date taken | 2017.04.13 |
| Time taken | 11:33:38 GMT |
4928 x 3280 pixels 720 x 480 pixels 4928 x 3280 pixels 640 x 426 pixels
Photo center point: 41.1° N, 29.0° E
Photo center point by machine learning:
Country or Geographic Name: | TURKEY |
Features: | BOSPHORUS STRAIT, ISTANBUL, BRIDGES |
| Features Found Using Machine Learning: | |
Cloud Cover Percentage: | 0 (no clouds present) |
Sun Elevation Angle: | 52° |
Sun Azimuth: | 219° |
Camera: | Nikon D4 Electronic Still Camera |
Focal Length: | 1150mm |
Camera Tilt: | 16 degrees |
Format: | 4928E: 4928 x 3280 pixel CMOS sensor, 36.0mm x 23.9mm, total pixels: 16.6 million, Nikon FX format |
Film Exposure: | |
| Additional Information | |
| Width | Height | Annotated | Cropped | Purpose | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4928 pixels | 3280 pixels | No | No | NASA's Earth Observatory web site | Download Image |
| 720 pixels | 480 pixels | Yes | No | NASA's Earth Observatory web site | Download Image |
| 4928 pixels | 3280 pixels | No | No | Download Image | |
| 640 pixels | 426 pixels | No | No | Download Image |
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) focused a camera on the Bosphorus, also called the Istanbul Strait, which famously divides Europe (lower half of the image) from Asia (upper). Turkey's largest city, Istanbul, flanks both shorelines.
Forested parks (lower left) contrast with the red roof tiles of the cityscape, one of the most striking features of Istanbul when viewed from space. Three bridges connect the opposite shores, two of which appear in the image - the Bosphorus Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, which is named for Mehmed the Conqueror.
Highways lace the city, connecting clusters of high-rise buildings that stand out from the tiled roofs and cast more shadow than shorter buildings. Taksim Square is the center of modern Istanbul. It appears as an open space near the Dolmabahce Palace, the administrative heart of the Ottoman Empire in pre-republic centuries.
The Bosphorus enables significant amounts of international shipping to move between the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea. It is especially important as an outlet for Russian oil products.
In this photograph, a few ships are visible in the waterway. At several points they need to make dangerously sharp turns, with coastlines obstructing visibility. This is especially true at Yenikoy and Kandilli Point. Navigation is made more hazardous because currents can reach 7 to 8 knots (3.6 to 4.1 meters per second). The risks of navigating the Bosphorus are multiplied by the heavy ferry traffic linking the European and Asian shores.
To reduce the number of ships and to improve safety in this narrow waterway - just 1050 meters (1140 yards) at the Bosphorus Bridge - officials have proposed to dig a new waterway.The Kanal Istanbul would connect the Mediterranean and Black Sea at a point 70 kilometers (45 miles) to the west of Istanbul.
