Constanta, Romania

High-resolution image (1.9 Mb)

The modern city of Constanta -- with a population of more than 348,000 -- is located on the western coast of the Black Sea and is the principal seaport for Romania. It is the site of the ancient Greek city of Tomis, which was colonized in the sixth century B.C. In the first century A.D., Tomis became a flourishing provincial capital of the Roman Empire, acquiring its current name from Emperor Constantine I.

Today, Constanta is a thriving port of entry for Romania, offering both tourist attractions and an expanding, modern port facility that is among the largest on the Black Sea. The crew of STS-112 acquired this detailed digital image of the city on October 17, 2002, using a 400 mm lens. The older part of the city is situated near a large coastal lagoon to the north, while to the south the port facilities are connected to the Danube River's import shipping commerce via the 64-kilometer (40-mile) long Danube-Black Sea Canal. Agricultural fields, consisting mostly of wheat and barley, extend almost to the shorelines.

Astronaut photograph ISS005-E-6329 was provided by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA-JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.