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Astronaut Photography of Earth - Display RecordISS020-E-47807Low-resolution Browse Image(Most browse images are not color adjusted.)ImagesConditions for Use of Images >>Image Transformation Tutorial >> Saving, Color Adjusting, and Printing Images >> Images to View on Your Computer Now
Request the original image file. Download a Keyhole Markup Language (KML) file for use in Google Earth. Electronic Image DataCamera Files >> No sound file available.IdentificationMission: ISS020 Roll: E Frame: 47807 Mission ID on the Film or image: ISS020Country or Geographic Name: BRAZIL Features: SUNGLINT, RIO MADEIRA, LAGO ACARA, LINE OF CUMULONIMBUS CLOUDS Center Point Latitude: -7.0 Center Point Longitude: -62.5 (Negative numbers indicate south for latitude and west for longitude) Stereo: (Yes indicates there is an adjacent picture of the same area) ONC Map ID: JNC Map ID: CameraCamera Tilt: High ObliqueCamera Focal Length: 48mm Camera: N2: Nikon D2Xs Film: 4288E : 4288 x 2848 pixel CMOS sensor, RGBG imager color filter. QualityFilm Exposure:Percentage of Cloud Cover: 100 (76-100) NadirDate: 20091006 (YYYYMMDD)GMT Time: 210653 (HHMMSS)Nadir Point Latitude: -5.4, Longitude: -54.8 (Negative numbers indicate south for latitude and west for longitude) Nadir to Photo Center Direction: West Sun Azimuth: 265 (Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point) Spacecraft Altitude: 184 nautical miles (341 km) Sun Elevation Angle: 6 (Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point) Orbit Number: 2354 CaptionsThunderstorms on the Brazilian HorizonA picturesque line of thunderstorms and numerous circular cloud patterns filled the view as the International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 20 crew members looked out at the limb (blue line on the horizon) of the Earth. The region shown in the astronaut photograph (top image) includes an unstable, active atmosphere forming a large area of cumulonimbus clouds in various stages of development. The crew was looking west-southwest from the Amazon Basin, along the Rio Madeira toward Bolivia when the image was taken. The semi-circular cloud patterns near the center of the astronaut photograph may be detected in a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) infrared satellite image of the region (bottom image, yellow rectangle) acquired about 20 minutes earlier than the astronaut photograph. The distinctive circular patterns of the clouds in the astronaut photograph are likely caused by the aging of thunderstorms. Such ring structures often form during the final stages of storms’ development as their centers collapse. Sunglint—the mirror-like reflection of sunlight off a water surface directly back to the camera onboard the ISS—is visible on the waters of the Rio Madeira and Lago Acara in the Amazon Basin. Widespread haze over the basin gives the reflected light an orange hue. The Rio Madeira flows northward and joins the Amazon River on its path to the Atlantic Ocean. A large smoke plume near the bottom center of the image may be one source of the haze. Download Packaged File. This option downloads the following items, packaged into a single file, if they are available:
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This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science Directorate. Recommended Citation: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth." . |
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