Snow-Covered Desert
Snow-Covered Desert are rare, but that’s exactly what’s happening at the Taklimakan Desert in western China. An observation by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite, as it passed over on Jan. 2, 2013. Image © NASA/Aqua
U.S. Fires 2012
2012 was an extraordinary year for wildfires in the United States. According to records maintained by the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) and NASA, show that more than 9.1 million acres had burned as of November 30, 2012—the third highest total in a record that dates back to 1960. NASA images by the Science Visualization Studio. Caption by Adam Voiland.
Swirls along an Ice Highway
Swirls along an ice highway in the sea water off the east coast of Greenland, observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on October 17, 2012. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
Sea Ice off Eastern Greenland
The MODIS instrument on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this visible image of Sea Ice off eastern Greenland on October 16, 2012. Image credit: NASA/GSFC/Jeff Schmaltz/MODIS Land Rapid Response Team
Last weekend’s Typhoon Jelawat [video]
Typhoon Jelawat in Japan, left approximately 145 people with minor injuries with the hardest hit area around Okinawa. The typhoon produces strong winds and left tens of thousands of people without power. Image Credit: NASA Goddard/MODIS Rapid Response Team Watch these amazing videos!
Wildfire on Chios
In mid-August 2012, an intense wildfire broke out on island of Chios, in Aegean sea, Greece, sending a thick plume of smoke southward toward the island of Crete (Kriti).
Summer Storm over Arctic
An unusually strong storm formed off the coast of Alaska on August 5 and tracked into the center of the Arctic Ocean, where it slowly dissipated over the next several days. NASA image acquired August 6, 2012.
Iceberg twice Manhattan’s size breaks off Greenland glacier
An iceberg, or ice island, twice the size of Manhattan has broken away from the Petermann Glacier in northern Greenland. Images from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite show the island breaking off a tongue of ice that extends at the end of the glacier.
A Glorious View
A layer of stratocumulus clouds over the Pacific Ocean, in this image from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired on June 20, 2012, served as the backdrop for this rainbow-like optical phenomenon known as a glory. Glories generally appear as concentric rings of color in front of mist or fog.
A Hole in the Sky
An enormous oval hole, several hundred miles across, in the clouds above the southern Pacific Ocean, acquired by NASA’s Aqua satellite on June 5, approximately 500 miles (800 km) off the southwestern coast of Tasmania. Image credit: NASA/Aqua
