Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Mount Etna, Sicily
Published August 14, 2006
One of the most consistently active volcanoes in the world, Sicily’s Mount Etna has a historical record of eruptions dating back to 1500 BC. This astronaut photograph captures plumes of steam and possibly ash originating from summit craters on the mountain: the Northeast Crater and Central Crater, which includes two secondary craters (Voragine and Bocca Nuova).
Related images:
540 x 405 JPEG
1000 x 662 420 KB - JPEG
Calcite Quarry, Michigan
Published August 7, 2006
While the Great Lakes region of North America is well known for its importance to shipping between the United States, Canada, and the Atlantic Ocean, it is also the location of an impressive structure in the continent’s bedrock: the Michigan Basin. Formed during the Paleozoic Era (approximately 540–250 million years ago) the Basin looks much like a large bullseye defined by the arrangement of exposed rock layers that all tilt inwards, forming a huge bowl-shaped structure. The outer layers of the Basin include thick deposits of carbonates—rocks containing carbon and oxygen, such as limestone—deposited over millions of years when a shallow sea covered the region. These carbonate rocks are mined throughout the Great Lakes region using large open-pit mines. The largest carbonate mine in the world, Calcite Quarry, appears in this astronaut photograph.
1000 x 663 454 KB - JPEG
Ship Traffic on the Suez Canal, Egypt
Published July 31, 2006
This astronaut photograph captures a northbound convoy of cargo ships entering the Mediterranean Sea from the Suez Canal in Egypt.
1000 x 750 287 KB - JPEG
Yates Oilfield, West Texas
Published July 24, 2006
The Permian Basin of west Texas and southeastern New Mexico is one of the most productive petroleum provinces of North America. The area holds one of the thickest deposits of rock from the Permian Period, which lasted from approximately 290 to 251 million years ago. The Basin is a large depression in the bedrock surface along the southern edge of the North American craton, an ancient core of continental crust. The Basin filled with thick layers of sediment during the Paleozoic Era (about 545 to 251 million years ago) as the region was alternately covered by shallow oceans, or exposed as coastal salt flats. The sediments hardened into primarily organic-rich carbonate and minerals such as common table salt. Later activity in the Earth’s crust caused folding of the sedimentary layers, creating ideal conditions for the formation, trapping, and storage of petroleum. In this astronaut photograph, numerous white well locations and petroleum drilling structures mark the Yates Oil Field in the layered sedimentary rocks of the Permian Basin.
1000 x 691 517 KB - JPEG
Tenerife Island, Spain
Published July 17, 2006
Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands, a Spanish possession located off the northwestern coast of Africa. The central feature of this astronaut photograph is the elliptical depression of the Las Cañadas Caldera that measures 170 square kilometers (about 65 square miles).
540 x 334 JPEG
1000 x 663 616 KB - JPEG
Nukuoro Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia
Published July 10, 2006
Located just north of the equator, this classically shaped atoll is part of the Caroline Islands, which stretch northeast of Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific. Nukuoro Atoll is one of 607 islands that make up the Federated States of Micronesia.
540 x 814 JPEG
1000 x 652 394 KB - JPEG
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, TX
Published July 3, 2006
The largest airport in Texas, Dallas-Fort Worth International (DFW) is also the fourth largest in the world, and it occupies more surface area than the entire island of Manhattan in New York. This astronaut photograph captures the entire airport and portions of the surrounding Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area.
1000 x 662 684 KB - JPEG
Site of Carthage, Tunisia
Published June 26, 2006
The city-state of Carthage in North Africa was founded by Phoenician settlers in 814 BC, and it subsequently became the seat of a trade empire that controlled much of the western Mediterranean region (including most of the former Phoenician lands). Carthage was completely destroyed by the Roman Republic during the Third (and final) Punic War (149-146 BC). The end of Carthage has been made notorious by the story that the Romans allegedly sowed the city with salt to ensure that no further rivals to their power would arise there. However, given the great value of salt at the time and the strategic importance of the city’s location, scholars dispute whether the event actually occurred. Following the destruction of Carthage, Roman dominance of the Mediterranean continued until the fall of the Western Empire in 476 AD.
1000 x 662 470 KB - JPEG
Aves Island
Published June 19, 2006
Named Isla de Aves in Spanish, (meaning “Island of the Birds”) Aves Island lies west of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. It provides a nesting site to green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) and, of course, birds. Because the abundant bird droppings, known as guano, could be used in fertilizer and gunpowder, guano miners worked on the island until they depleted the supply. Since its discovery by Europeans, likely in the late 16th century, Aves Island was subsequently claimed by several European nations. The island is currently claimed by Venezuela, although disputes about ownership of the island, and the surrounding exclusive economic zone in the Caribbean, continue today.
551 x 405 JPEG
3032 x 2008 1 MB Bytes - JPEG
Sunglint Features, Lake Erie, United States
Published June 12, 2006
Sunglint results when the Sun’s light bounces off the water’s surface and into the satellite sensor or camera. In this astronaut photograph, taken near noon on May 28th, 2006, sunglint highlights features on the surface of Lake Erie, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Cleveland, Ohio. The angular water bodies along the river are likely marinas. The main part of the image shows numerous ship wakes in the zone of partial glint around the disk of the Sun’s reflection point. The wakes radiate from the mouth of the Vermilion River, with many of them heading northwest (towards the lower-right corner) in the direction of Detroit, Michigan.
1000 x 662 326 KB - JPEG
1000 x 662 361 KB - JPEG
1000 x 662 372 KB - JPEG
Central Phoenix Metro Area, Arizona
Published June 5, 2006
The Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area is the largest in the southwestern United States. This astronaut photograph of the central metro region includes the boundary area between three of the municipalities included in the conurbation of Phoenix: the cities of Phoenix (left), Tempe (center and lower right), and Scottsdale (upper right).
1838 x 1179 1 MB Bytes - JPEG
2800 x 2100 3 MB - JPEG
Wave Sets and Tidal Currents, Gulf of California
Published May 29, 2006
Sunglint (reflection of sunlight from the water surface directly back to the camera or satellite sensor) off the Gulf of California gives the water a silver-gray appearance rather than the normal azure color in this astronaut photograph. The sunglint allows us to see several active features which wouldn’t be visible otherwise. The image captures a moment in time displaying very active and complex ocean wave dynamics. In this view of Punta Perihuete, Mexico, we can see three major features: biological orman-made oils floating on the surface; the out-going tidal current; and complex wave patterns. The oils on the surface are recognizable as light-grey, curved and variable-width streamers shaped by the local winds and currents. Plankton, fish, natural oil seeps, and boats dumping their bilges are all potential sources for these oils.
1000 x 663 439 KB - JPEG