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Astronaut Photography of Earth - Display Record

ISS008-E-8951

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	File Name	File Size (bytes)	Width	Height	Annotated	Cropped	Purpose	Comments
View	ISS008-E-8951.JPG	21092	639	437	No	No
View	ISS008-E-8951.JPG	63364	540	540	No	Yes	NASA's Earth Observatory web site
View	ISS008-E-8951.JPG	172381	540	677	No	Yes	NASA's Earth Observatory web site	color adjusted
View	ISS008-E-8951.JPG	537140	1000	1529	No	No	NASA's Earth Observatory web site	color adjusted

Large Images to Request for Downloading

	File Name	File Size (bytes)	Width	Height	Annotated	Cropped	Purpose	Comments
Request	ISS008-E-8951_2.JPG	116636	656	1000	No	No	NASA's Earth Observatory web site
Request	ISS008-E-8951.JPG	251190	2000	1368	No	No
Request	ISS008-E-8951.JPG	851049	1308	2000	No	No	Earth From Space collection	color adjusted
Request	ISS008-E-8951.TIF	7932238	2000	1312	No	No	Original file from camera

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Electronic Image Data

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Identification

Mission: ISS008 Roll: E Frame: 8951 Mission ID on the Film or image: ISS008
Country or Geographic Name: ASTRONOMICAL OBJECTS
Features: PAN-CRESCENT MOON, EARTH LIMB
Center Point Latitude: Center Point Longitude: (Negative numbers indicate south for latitude and west for longitude)
Stereo: (Yes indicates there is an adjacent picture of the same area)
ONC Map ID: JNC Map ID:

Camera

Camera Tilt: High Oblique
Camera Focal Length: 800mm
Camera: N1: Nikon D1
Film: 2000E : 2000 x 1312 pixel CCD, RGBG imager color filter.

Quality

Film Exposure:
Percentage of Cloud Cover: 25 (11-25)

Nadir

Date: 20031218 (YYYYMMDD)GMT Time: 154429 (HHMMSS)
Nadir Point Latitude: 38.9, Longitude: -13.3 (Negative numbers indicate south for latitude and west for longitude)
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: South
Sun Azimuth: 221 (Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point)
Spacecraft Altitude: 199 nautical miles (369 km)
Sun Elevation Angle: 16 (Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point)
Orbit Number: 984

Captions

Thinning Upper Atmosphere:
From a vantage point about 360 km (225 miles) over the Earth, Space Station crewmembers photographed the crescent moon through the upper layers of Earth’s atmosphere. At the bottom of the image, a closed deck of clouds is probably at about 6 km (3 miles). The shades of blue grading to black are caused by the scatter of light as it strikes gas molecules of the very low density upper atmosphere.

Models predict that emissions of carbon dioxide are causing the upper atmosphere to cool and contract, and therefore reduce the density of gases in the layer spanning from 90 to 649 km (60 to 400 miles) above the surface—known as the thermosphere. According to a study by the Naval Research Laboratory (http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/prrl/prrl0406.html), the density of the thermosphere has decreased about 10 percent over the last 35 years. These findings are important both for space science and for Earth science. Spacecraft in orbit, such as the International Space Station, experience less drag and need fewer boosts to maintain their orbit. At the same time, space debris also remains in orbit longer, which increases hazards to spacecraft. Most importantly, the study validates models of the “greenhouse effect” of increased carbon dioxide release on the dynamics of the atmosphere.

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