Fires near Big Sur, Calif., continued to burn unchecked when the Advanced
Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument
on NASA's Terra satellite captured this image on Sunday, June 29. In
Northern California alone, fires have consumed more than 346,000 acres.At
least 18,000 people have deployed to attempt to extinguish or control the
flames. Air quality as far away as San Francisco has been adversely
impacted by the dense clouds of smoke and ash blowing towards the
northwest. The satellite image combines a natural color portrayal of the
landscape with thermal infrared data showing the active burning areas in
red. The dark area in the lower right is a previous forest fire.
ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched December 18,
1999, on NASA's Terra satellite. The instrument was built by Japan's
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team
is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and the
data products.
The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides
scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface
mapping, and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example
applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats; monitoring
potentially active volcanoes; identifying crop stress; determining cloud
morphology and physical properties; wetlands evaluation; thermal pollution
monitoring; coral reef degradation; surface temperature mapping of soils
and geology; and measuring surface heat balance.
The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission
Directorate.
Size: 35.4 by 57 kilometers (21.9 by 34.2 miles)
Location: 36.1 degrees North latitude, 121.6 degrees West longitude
Orientation: North at top
Image Data: ASTER bands 3, 2, and 1
Original Data Resolution: 15 meters (49 feet)
Dates Acquired: June 29, 2008
