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The Top of the Atmosphere
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Published February 2, 2007
Atmospheric gases scatter blue wavelengths of visible light more than other wavelengths, giving the Earth’s visible edge a blue halo. At higher and higher altitudes, the atmosphere becomes so thin that it essentially ceases to exist. Gradually, the atmospheric halo fades into the blackness of space. This astronaut photograph captured on July 20, 2006, shows a nearly translucent moon emerging from behind the halo.
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Pagan Island, Northern Mariana Islands
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Published January 29, 2007
Pagan Island (image right) is made up of two volcanoes connected by a narrow isthmus of land. The volcanoes are stratovolcanoes, which are tall, typically cone-shaped structures formed by layers of dense, crystallized lava and less-dense ash and pumice. Mount Pagan, the larger of the two volcanoes, forms the northeastern portion of the island and has been the most active historically.
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The East Pacific Rise from Near and Far
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Published January 23, 2007
What do oceanographers and astronauts have in common? Observations of the complex interactions between different Earth systems, for one. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station routinely observe and photograph the Earth’s surface to visualize the complicated interfaces between the atmosphere, the ocean, the land, and life on the surface. Oceanographers are also interdisciplinary students of the Earth; their interests include geology, chemistry, hydrology, and biology. Currently, a team of scientists is cruising the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico and is preparing for submersible dives on the East Pacific Rise, part of the world’s mid-ocean ridge system.
Gallipoli and Dardanelles Strait, Turkey
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Published January 22, 2007
The city of Gallipoli sits at a crossroads between the Marmara and Aegean Seas, connected by the Dardanelles Strait. he urbanized area of modern Gallipoli is visible as a light gray to pink region at the entrance to the Dardanelles Strait.
New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain
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Published January 15, 2007
In this astronaut photograph from November 16, 2006, sunglint—light reflected directly back to the camera onboard the International Space Station (ISS) from a water surface—accentuates the wetland setting of New Orleans by highlighting the numerous lakes, ponds, and rivers (in various shades of silver-gray) surrounding the city.
Gibraltar Bay, Western Mediterranean Sea
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Published January 8, 2007
Gibraltar Bay, located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula, is the central feature of this astronaut photograph. The famous Rock of Gibraltar that forms the northeastern border of the bay is formed of Jurassic-era seafloor sediments that solidified into limestone, a rock formed mostly of the mineral calcite, which is found in the shells of sea creatures. The limestone was subsequently lifted above the ocean surface when the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. The cities of La Linea and Algeciras bordering the bay, together with petroleum-processing facilities along the northern shoreline, are part of Spain, whereas the city of Gibraltar itself (to the west of and including the Rock) is under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom.
Dyess Air Force Base: Abilene, Texas
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Published January 1, 2007
Dyess Air Force Base, located near the central Texas city of Abilene, is the home of the 7thBomb Wing and 317th Airlift Groups of the United States Air Force. The main runway is approximately 5 kilometers long, a distance that is necessary to accommodate the large bombers and cargo aircraft at the base. Many of these aircraft are visible in the image, parked in parallel rows on the base tarmac.
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Geneva, Switzerland
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Published December 25, 2006
The city of Geneva embraces the southern end of Lake Geneva (also known as Lac Léman). Geneva is tucked between two major mountain ranges, the Jura to the northwest (not shown) and the Alps to the southeast. Mount Saleve, near the bottom of the image, represents the northern foothills of the range.
Bernese Alps, Switzerland
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Published December 11, 2006
The formidable mountain system of the Alps stretches across much of central Europe, with seven countries claiming portions of the mountains within their borders: Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, and Slovenia. The glacial landscape of the Bernese Alps, located in southwestern Switzerland, is well illustrated by this astronaut photograph. An astronaut took this picture looking north-northwest while the International Space Station was over the Mediterranean Sea between Corsica and Italy. Three of the higher peaks of the central Alps are visible: Jungfrau at 4,158 meters (13,642 feet); Moench at 4,089 meters (13,415 feet); and Eiger at 3,970 meters (13,025 feet).
Rio Negro, Amazonia, Brazil
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Published December 4, 2006
The wide, multi-island zone in the Rio Negro (Black River) shown in this astronaut photograph from September 2, 2006, is one of two, long “archipelagoes” upstream of the city of Manaus (not shown) in central Amazonia. Sixty kilometers of the total 120-kilemeter length of this archipelago appear in this image.
Galveston, Texas
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Published November 27, 2006
Galveston Island has alternately been a home to Native Americans, a base for Mexico’s rebellion against Spain, a pirate kingdom, a sea port, and even the capital of the Republic of Texas. In September 1900, the city was largely destroyed by a powerful hurricane. This storm damage, combined with construction of the Houston Ship Channel and discovery of oil in eastern Texas, shifted the center of trade northwest to Houston. This astronaut photograph shows some of the human impacts in Galveston that are easily observed from the vantage point of low-Earth orbit. The city of Galveston dominates the eastern half of Galveston Island, appearing as the gray-white region at center right. A large seawall along the Gulf of Mexico—shown here along the southern coastline of Galveston Island—protects most of the city. To the west of Galveston, coastal wetlands are largely submerged by regional subsidence—sinking of the land as a result of ground water withdrawal by the petrochemical industry of Houston and Texas City.
Currituck Sound, North Carolina, USA
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Published November 20, 2006
North Carolina’s Outer Banks—known as Pine Island in the area shown in this image—protects a network of interconnected waterways, including Currituck Sound, a shallow, 3-mile-wide water body; the North River; and the well-known Albemarle Sound. Wakes from barges on the Intracoastal Waterway appear on the North River, which provides a connection between the Hampton Roads area to the north and Pamlico Sound to the south.