On July 3, 2004, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection
Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA's Terra satellite acquired this image of the
Willow fire near Payson, Arizona. The image is being used by the United
States Department of Agriculture's Forest Service Remote Sensing
Applications Center (RSAC). The image combines data from the visible and
infrared wavelength regions to highlight: the burned areas in dark red;
the active fires in red-orange; vegetation in green; and smoke in blue.
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
(JPL), Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Earth Science
Enterprise, a long- term research effort dedicated to understanding the
Earth as an integrated system and applying Earth System Science to
improve prediction of climate, weather, and natural hazards using the
unique vantage point of space.
Size: 34 by 41 kilometers (21.1 by 25.4 miles)
Location: 34.0 degrees North latitude, 111.5 degrees West longitude
Orientation: North at top
Image Data: ASTER bands 2, 3, and 8
Original Data Resolution: 15 meters (49.2 feet)
Date Acquired: July 3, 2004