The Esperanza fire started on October 26 in the dry brush near Palm
Springs, CA. By the time it was contained 6 days later, the fire had
consumed 40,200 acres, and destroyed 34 homes and 20 outbuildings. Racing
through grass, brush, and timber, the blaze had forced hundreds to
evacuate, and it killed five firefighters who were working to protect
homes. Fire officials are reporting the cause of the blaze as arson. In
this ASTER image composite of visible and infrared bands, burned areas are
shown in shades of red, vegetation is green, brown vegetation is brown and
asphalt and concrete are blue-gray.
With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared
wavelength region, and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters
(about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing
surface of our planet.
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: 21.4 by 26.9 kilometers (13.2 by 16.6 miles)
Location: 33.6 degrees North latitude, 116.8 degrees West longitude
Orientation: North at top
Image Data: ASTER Bands 7, 3 and 1
Original Data Resolution: ASTER 15 meters (49.2 feet) and 30 meters (98.4 feet)
Dates Acquired: November 3, 2006