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.
|