ISS053-E-131276
| NASA Photo ID | ISS053-E-131276 |
| Focal Length | 500mm |
| Date taken | 2017.10.22 |
| Time taken | 15:11:37 GMT |
4928 x 3280 pixels 720 x 480 pixels 4928 x 3280 pixels 640 x 426 pixels
Photo center point: 26.8° N, 6.8° E
Photo center point by machine learning:
Country or Geographic Name: | ALGERIA |
Features: | TIFERNINE DUNE FIELD, TASSILI-N-AJJER DESERT, ILLIZI PROVINCE |
| Features Found Using Machine Learning: | |
Cloud Cover Percentage: | 10 (1-10)% |
Sun Elevation Angle: | 16° |
Sun Azimuth: | 244° |
Camera: | Nikon D4 Electronic Still Camera |
Focal Length: | 500mm |
Camera Tilt: | High Oblique |
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 | Yes | No | NASA's Earth Observatory web site | Download Image |
| 720 pixels | 480 pixels | Yes | Yes | NASA's Earth Observatory web site | Download Image |
| 4928 pixels | 3280 pixels | No | No | Download Image | |
| 640 pixels | 426 pixels | No | No | Download Image |
While flying aboard the International Space Station, an astronaut took this photograph of the northwest corner of Tassili n'Ajjer National Park in Algeria. The darker sandstone plateau, Tassili n'Ajjer, curves around part of the Tifernine Dunes - a vast dune field of the Sahara Desert. The plateau stands a few hundred feet above the dunes below.
Tassili n'Ajjer translates to "plateau of chasms," a name that describes the deep fissures and canyons long ago cut into the rock by flowing water. The dune field below took shape after an ancient lake dried up. Tassili n'Ajjer is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with more than 15,000 prehistoric etchings and illustrations on the cave walls; these record a human presence as far back as 6000 BCE.
Geologists generally classify dunes into five basic types, and all but one (domes) are found in the Tifernine Dune Field. (Click hereto view a high-resolution photograph of the dunes.) The shape of a dune is an indication of regional wind patterns. In the case of Tassili n'Ajjer, the ridges on either side of the dune field block most of the sand particles from traveling over the plateau. This causes sand to pile up over time such that the dunes are sitting at a much higher elevation in the alcove than elsewhere in the dune field.
