Bush Fires in Australia
Abundant rainfall during the wet season in northern Australia waters the tropical savannas, where grasses can grow as high as three meters (more than 9 feet). During the dry season (Southern Hemisphere winter), these grasses become extremely flammable, and they fuel enormous bush fires. This photo-like image captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on August 17, 2008, shows numerous large fires in Arnhem Land in Northern Territory, Australia. Places where the sensor detected fire are marked in red.
Image credit: Jeff Schmaltz, NASA's MODIS Rapid Response Team
Text credit: Rebecca Lindsey, NASA's Earth Observatory