Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Data acquired December 15, 2005 1100 x 850 260 KB - JPEG
Data acquired December 15, 2005 2200 x 1700 910 KB - JPEG
Data acquired December 15, 2005 4400 x 3400 2 MB - JPEG
A thick band of dust swept out of Libya and Egypt and over the Mediterranean on the powerful winds of a cyclone. Like hurricanes, which are tropical cyclones, cyclones form around an area of low-pressure. Air rushes into the low pressure and rises. As it does so, the motion of the Earth sends the air spinning counterclockwise. The motion of the air is clear in the swirl of clouds in the top of the image. Low-pressure systems such as this one typically bring rain and strong winds.
The movement of the wind around the cyclone is clear from the pattern of air-borne dust seen in this image, captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on December 15, 2005. The pale beige dust circles the cyclone in a counter-clockwise direction. To the east of the storm is Egypt’s lush Nile Delta.
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC
Published December 16, 2005 Data acquired December 15, 2005