ISS053-E-131330
| NASA Photo ID | ISS053-E-131330 |
| Focal Length | 240mm |
| Date taken | 2017.10.22 |
| Time taken | 15:15:38 GMT |
4928 x 3280 pixels 720 x 480 pixels 4928 x 3280 pixels 640 x 426 pixels
Photo center point: 19.8° N, 18.6° E
Photo center point by machine learning:
Country or Geographic Name: | CHAD |
Features: | TIBESTI, EMI KOUSSI VOL., EOLIAN GROOVES |
| Features Found Using Machine Learning: | |
Cloud Cover Percentage: | 10 (1-10)% |
Sun Elevation Angle: | 9° |
Sun Azimuth: | 253° |
Camera: | Nikon D4 Electronic Still Camera |
Focal Length: | 240mm |
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 | 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) took this oblique photograph of one of the large volcanoes found in the central Sahara Desert. Emi Koussi is the dark crater and cone occupying most of the image. The dark lavas erupted from the volcano contrast with the surrounding light-toned sands and bedrock. For scale, the Emi Koussi crater is 12 to 15 kilometers wide (7.5 to 9.5 miles). Canyons, which were eroded by rivers and streams, radiate down the slopes. Click here for an earlier photo of the crater depression.
The Emi Koussi cone rises so high above the surrounding plains (2300 meters or 7,500 feet) that it deflects the dominant winds, which curve around the mountain mass. The lack of vegetation in the desert allows these persistent winds to erode long grooves in soft rocks - geologists call them yardangs. The grooves can be 30 meters deep and up to tens of kilometers long, and they reflect the dominant wind directions.
Emi Koussi is one of a line of volcanoes trending north in the range known as the Tibesti Mountains, which are often photographed by ISS crews. Travel across this countryside is known to be extremely difficult due to the challenging terrain.
