Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Estevan Coalfield and Power Plants, Saskatchewan
Published March 18, 2001
Snow and ice serve to accent human activities in this photograph taken by the Space Shuttle mission STS-98 crewmembers on February 17, 2001. The Souris River stretches across the photograph from left to right, with the upstream Rafferty Dam Reservoir frozen over on the far left. Two power plants, the Boundary Dam Power Station and the Shand Power Station, can be identified by the smoke plumes and shadows of those plumes. The river is frozen over upstream of the Boundary Dam Power Station, but thermal loading from the plants has warmed the water in the Boundary Dam Reservoir so that it remains nearly ice free. Downstream of the reservoirs, thermal loading is sufficient to maintain open flow in the Souris River.
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Popocatepetl from the Space Station
Published February 18, 2001
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The International Space Station’s New Destiny Module
Published February 16, 2001
With much of their time committed to construction of the International Space Station, astronauts and cosmonauts are also beginning their first scientific studies. The Destiny Laboratory just joined to the International Space Station includes the best optical quality window ever flown on a human-occupied spacecraft. The window will eventually host a number of remote sensing experiments that will use a special rack system, the Window Observational Research Facility or WORF, for mechanical and electrical support (Eppler et al. 1996). Until the WORF is complete in June 2002, astronauts are photographing the Earth’s surface as part of an early project, Crew Earth Observations.
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Mount Everest (Chomolungma, Goddess Mother of the World)
Published February 4, 2001
Mt. Everest is the highest (29,035 feet, 8850 meters) mountain in the world. This detailed look at Mt. Everest and Lhotse is part of a more extensive photograph of the central Himalaya taken in October 1993 that is one of the best views of the mountain captured by astronauts to date.
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The Blue Marble from Apollo 17
Published January 31, 2001
View of the Earth as seen by the Apollo 17 crew traveling toward the moon. This translunar coast photograph extends from the Mediterranean Sea area to the Antarctica south polar ice cap. This is the first time the Apollo trajectory made it possible to photograph the south polar ice cap.
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Aurora from the Space Shuttle
Published January 14, 2001
Astronauts aboard the STS-97 Space Shuttle mission in December photographed the northern lights after undocking from the International Space Station. TThe faint, thin greenish band stretching across and above the horizon is airglow; radiation emitted by the atmosphere from a layer about 30 km thick and about 100 km altitude.
Alexandria (Al Iskandariya), Egypt
Published December 31, 2000
This image of Alexandria was taken by astronauts on board the International Space Station in December 2000 using an Electronic Still Camera.
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Erosion by Ice and Water in the Southern Andes
Published December 24, 2000
This scene on the remote, rugged Argentine/Chilean border in the far southern Andes Mountains offers numerous, dramatic examples of both erosional processes and features of ice and water.
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Toshka Lakes, Southern Egypt
Published December 17, 2000
New lakes in southern Egypt have been monitored by astronauts since 1998. The flooding was first documented in early November 1998. Subsequently, three additional lakes were created by Lake Nasser overflow, as shown by the above photograph taken in December of 1999.
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Smog Layer Over Upstate New York
Published December 10, 2000
The STS-92 Space Shuttle astronauts photographed upstate New York at sunset on October 21, 2000. Water bodies (Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, the Finger Lakes, the St. Lawrence and Niagara Rivers) are highlighted by sunglint (sun reflecting off the water surface), making for a dramatic and unusual regional view.
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First Image of Earth from the International Space Station
Published December 3, 2000
Astronauts used the Electrical Still Camera (ESC) to photograph a mass of storm clouds during Expedition 1.
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Smoky Air over North Carolina and Virginia
Published November 18, 2000
This photograph taken from the Space Shuttle Discovery was taken at a slightly oblique look angle to better view air pollution and other atmospheric features. The photograph was taken with the Shuttle in a position over the Atlantic Ocean looking back toward the North Carolina and Virginia coast. On October 23, 2000, high pressure centered over the northeastern U.S. had created a capping inversion for aerosols. Forest fire smoke and industrial air pollution accumulated under the inversion. The inversion pattern is stronger inland, and the aerosols are being banked against the Piedmont. Relatively clear air is flowing from the ocean over the Carolina coastal plain. Small smoke plumes from individual fires can also be seen on the ground stretching from central Virginia to Raleigh, NC.
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