Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Data acquired June 21, 2006 2125 x 3500 2 MB - JPEG
Data acquired June 21, 2006 8500 x 14000 217 MB - GeoTIFF
Data acquired June 21, 2006 2125 x 3500 4 MB - JPEG
Data acquired June 21, 2006 2125 x 3500 23 MB - GeoTIFF
Data acquired June 21, 2006 91 KB - KML/KMZ
Data acquired June 21, 2006 JPEG
Data acquired June 21, 2006 540 x 711 JPEG
In a photo-like satellite image, the faintest of shadows or shading of grey may give them away, but more often, clouds over the poles simply disappear against the background, camouflaged from the satellite’s view by the underlying snow and sea ice. For those trying to track clouds from space, to understand cloud physics, say, or to predict the weather, the problem is frustrating. Only with a combination of visible and invisible wavelengths of light, such as infrared light, do clouds become distinct from the snow and ice below.
NASA images by Robert Simmon and Jesse Allen, based on MODIS data.
Published February 3, 2007 Data acquired June 21, 2006