Featured Photo: Ice Island Breaks Free
From NASA: In July, a massive ice island broke free of the Petermann Glacier in northwestern Greenland. On July 16, the giant iceberg could be seen drifting down the fjord, away from the floating ice tongue from which it calved.
Comparing this view with that from your average window seat is a bit of a challenge, but it might help to see just how far below those clouds are! According to NASA, this section of ice was about half the size of another iceberg, estimated to have been 97 square miles (251 square kilometers) that broke free from the same glacier in July of 2010.
The image was captured by NASA’s Terra satellite with an Advanced Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER). Note that this image has been rotated and north is toward the right.
Closeup of the Ice Island from Petermann Glacier NASA image acquired July 21, 2012.
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory
Step even further back and enjoy this view that never gets old. On February 2, 2012, Flickr weighed in to say that this photo “rocketed up to over 3.1 million views making it one of the all time most viewed images on the site after only one week.” It’s great to know fascination and awe of our planet and our environment prevail. Share your view of our planet, our environment as you see it.
Most Amazing High Definition Image of Earth - Blue Marble 2012 NASA image acquired January 25, 2012.
This image was taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA’s most recently launched Earth-observing satellite – Suomi NPP. Suomi NPP is the first of a new generation of satellites that will observe many facets of our changing Earth.
To read more about NASA’s Suomi NPP go to: www.nasa.gov/npp
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.