Jakarta, Indonesia

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. The population of the Jakarta conurbation is over 28 million, making it perhaps the largest metropolitan area in the world in terms of inhabitants. Established in the 4th century, it became an important trading port for the Kingdom of Sunda, and was the capital of the Dutch East Indies under the name of Batavia. The rapid growth of the city is illustrated in the three satellite images. In 1972, Landsat MSS captured an image of the city with about 11 million inhabitants. By 1994, the Landsat Thematic Mapper saw a city of 19 million. And in 2006, ASTER imaged a city of 25 million inhabitants. Each image covers an area of 40 by 50 km, and is located at 6.1 degrees south latitude, 106.8 degrees east longitude.

Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

Note: A rare error on the part of NASA here: They claim that the Jakarta conurbation is "perhaps the largest metropolitan area in the world in terms of inhabitants," with 28 million persons. However, the Tokyo metro area is far larger, with over 35.6 million inhabitants.

NASA to Launch Ocean Wind Monitor to Space Station

Artist's rendering of NASA's ISS-RapidScat instrument (inset), which will launch to the International Space Station in 2014 to measure ocean surface wind speed and direction and help improve weather forecasts, including hurricane monitoring. It will be installed on the end of the station's Columbus laboratory.

Illustration credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/JSC

Note: For more information, see NASA to Launch Ocean Wind Monitor to Space Station; also, QuikScat's Eye on Ocean Winds Lives On with RapidScat and NASA's RapidScat to Unveil Hidden Cycles of Sea Winds.

Arctic Sea Ice: 1978-2010

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Time series of Arctic sea ice concentration in September from 1978 to 2010.

Video credit: ESA/DLR

Cloudless British Isles

The lush landscapes of Ireland, Great Britain and northern France are pictured in this rare cloud-free view, acquired by Envisat on 28 March 2012.

To the west, thousands of lakes speckle the island of Ireland. Brown rugged cliffs along the coast frame its plush green interior. In the lower-right corner, the river Seine flows through Paris (seen here as a gray area) and snakes toward the English Channel. Following mainland Europe’s coastline north, we can see the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta followed by part of the intertidal Wadden Sea in the extreme top-right corner. The green and tan-tinted swirls in the seas and channels are due to sediments being transported in the water. Sediment is particularly concentrated around Britain’s southeastern coast, carried by the River Thames through London and into the North Sea.

This image is featured on the Earth from Space video program.

Photo credit: ESA

Jebel Uweinat

Jebel Uweinat (1,934 meters, mountain of sourcelets) is a mountain range in the area of the Egyptian-Sudanese-Libyan border. In general, the west slope constitutes an oasis, with wells, bushes and grass. The area is notable for its prehistoric petroglyphs. Engraved in sandstone, petroglyphs of Bushmen style are visible, representing giraffes, lions, ostriches, gazelles, and human figures. The western part of the massive consists of intrusive granite, arranged in a ring shape of some 25 km diameter. Its eastern part consists of sandstone; four plateaus emerge from the level of the surrounding desert. One of the driest places on earth, it reportedly hasn't rained since 1998 (Wikipedia). The image was acquired March 17, 2012, covers an area of 40 x 43 km, and is located at 22 degrees north latitude, 24.9 degrees east longitude.

Photo credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team