Faroe Islands

The Faroe Islands is an archipelago and autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, comprising 18 major islands. Located 320 km north of Scotland, the islands were first settled in about the 5th century. The population of about 50,000 is almost completely economically dependent on fishing. The islands are entirely volcanic in origin, and were more recently (geologically speaking) sculpted by numerous glaciers, leaving aretes, cirques, and tarns. The image of the northern part of the Islands was acquired June 6, 2007, covers an area of 37 by 38.5 km, and is located at 62.2 degrees north, 6.7 degrees west.

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

Helsinki, Finland

This image acquired by Japan’s ALOS satellite on 28 June 2009 shows Finland’s capital and largest city, Helsinki (upper right), on the shores of the Gulf of Finland.

The gulf is the eastern arm of the Baltic sea, stretching all the way to St. Petersburg in Russia. The waters are relatively shallow, with an average depth of about 38 m and maximum depth of about 100 m. During winter – usually in January – the waters freeze and stay frozen until about April.

Satellites play an important role during this season for shipping, providing imagery that helps icebreaker boats navigate through these frozen waters.

Situated on the tip of a peninsula and on more than 300 islands, Helsinki is sparsely populated compared to other European capitals and has many green areas. Running north to south through the center of the city is a 10 km-long forested park that offers opportunities for outdoor sports and activities to Helsinki’s residents.

This year, the park celebrates its 100-year anniversary, marked by various activities including nature walks, a photo competition and other events.

North of the city we can see the runways of the Helsinki airport, while farther west, the large, dark green area of Nuuksio National Park is evident.

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

Image credit: JAXA/ESA

Sandstorm Over the Sahara

A sandstorm over the Sahara desert in Africa seen by ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst from the International Space Station.

Photo credit: ESA/NASA

La Mancha Plateau, Spain

The area pictured lies on the southeast end of the La Mancha plateau, Spain. The arid but fertile lands are farmed for wheat, barley, oats and olives, among other crops.

Image credit: European Space Imaging / DigitalGlobe

Lava Flows from Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, has been in continuous eruption since 1983. Recently, lava flows from a vent close to the Pu'u O'o cone began cutting through dense vegetation and moving closer to inhabited areas. On September 8, 2014, the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA's Earth Observing 1 spacecraft obtained this infrared image. Although there are clouds and smoke from burning vegetation, a line of red points delineate the path taken by the new lava flows. As always, the threat posed by these lava flows is being assessed and monitored by scientists at the United States Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory.

Image credit: NASA/JPL/EO-1 Mission/GSFC/Ashley Davies

Lake Gairdner

Lake Gairdner in central South Australia is pictured in this image acquired by Japan’s ALOS satellite on 1 December 2009.

The Lake Gairdner National Park – which includes the nearby lakes Everard and Harris – was established in 1991 for its significant wildlife habitat and natural features.

While the area is hot and dry in summer, spring brings water and is a popular destination for birdwatchers. Red and western grey kangaroos, emus and feral camels can also be seen here.

When flooded, Gairdner is one of the largest salt lakes in Australia, more than 160 km long and 48 km wide. But when dry, the vast salt pan attracts racers attempting to set land speed records and is the site for the annual Speed Week event.

This image shows mostly the dry, salt-crusted lakebed, while the islands appear brick-red.

Image credit: JAXA/ESA

Avacha Bay, Russia

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (P-K) is the administrative, cultural, scientific and economic center of Kamchatka Krai, Russia on the Kamchatka Peninsula. P-K is located on the north side of Avacha Bay; this exceptional natural harbor is home to Russia's largest submarine base. P-K was founded by Dutch navigator Vitus Bering in 1740, naming the town after his two ships the St. Peter and the St. Paul. The image was acquired September 29, 2009, covers an area of 33 by 38 km, and is located at 53 degrees north, 158.6 degrees east.

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

Holuhraun, Iceland Volcanic Lava Flows (6 September 2014)

On the night of September 6, 2014, the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA's Earth Observing 1 (EO-1) spacecraft observed the ongoing eruption at Holuhraun, Iceland, from an altitude of 438 miles (705 kilometers). Data were collected at a resolution of 98 feet (30 meters) per pixel at different visible and infrared wavelengths.

Although partially covered by clouds, this scene shows the extent of the lava flows that have been erupting from a long fissure over the last week. The front of the lava flows are to the right (east) and extend more than 6.3 miles (10 kilometers) from the vent. The intense radiant energy from the incandescent lava illuminates the clouds and plume from the vent to create this ethereal scene.

The ongoing eruption is being closely monitored by scientists at the Icelandic Meteorological Office and the University of Iceland.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC/Ashley Davies

Ground Deformation from the South Napa Earthquake

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, has been monitoring active earthquake faults in California with a number of remote sensing and ground-based techniques. One such technique is the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) instrument, which has been in use since 2009. UAVSAR is an L-band Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar instrument that flies mounted underneath a NASA C-20A Earth science research aircraft from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. UAVSAR is able to detect minute changes in Earth’s surface that occur over time between flights of the instrument.

UAVSAR has monitored much of California’s seismically active regions including the Napa area about every six months since November 2009. The temporal history is key to identifying and understanding change when an event, such as an earthquake occurs. A comparison of data collected May 29, 2014, three months before the earthquake, and data collected August 29, 2014, five days after the magnitude 6.0 South Napa earthquake on August 24, 2014, determined that the earthquake surface rupture was more complex than originally anticipated with motion on multiple strands of the fault near the earthquake’s epicenter. The colors in the image represent the amount of ground motion between the two flights in the direction from a point on the ground to the instrument, which flies at an altitude of 41,000 feet (12,497 meters). Each colored contour, or fringe, of the image represents 4.7 inches (12 centimeters) of ground displacement toward or away from the instrument. These preliminary results indicate that several inches/centimeters of horizontal slip occurred on the various strands of the fault. In addition, linear discontinuities in the colored zones indicate locations where surface rupture is highly likely and these are of profound concern. The exquisite detail of the UAVSAR imagery provides local, state and federal agencies with the exact location of the fault traces that shifted during the earthquake and how they relate to levees, buildings, roads, and other vital infrastructure, as well as to help provide a fundamental understanding of earthquakes processes.

Further analyses of UAVSAR data will reveal how deep under Earth’s surface the faults slipped and the amount of the slip. Initial GPS analyses (yellow arrows), indicate an average slip of nearly 23.6 inches (60 centimeters) along a 9.3-mile-long (15-kilometer) fault, which is equivalent to a magnitude 6.1 earthquake, suggesting that additional quiet (non-shaking) slip occurred along the fault following the main earthquake.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASI/Google Earth

Note: For more information, see PIA18798: NASA Analyses of Global Positioning System Data and Italian Radar Satellite Data Reveal Napa Quake Ground Deformation and NASA Research Aids Response to California Napa Quake.

Holuhraun, Iceland Volcanic Eruption

On the night of September 1, 2014, the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) on NASA's Earth Observing 1 (EO-1) spacecraft observed the ongoing eruption at Holuhraun, Iceland, from an altitude of 438 miles (705 kilometers). Data were collected at a resolution of 98 feet (30 meters) per pixel at different infrared wavelengths and were then combined to create this false-color image that emphasizes the hottest areas of the vent and resulting lava flows. The image captured the 0.6-mile (1-kilometer)-long fissure from which lava is erupting, a channeled lava flow, and a broad expanse of lava flows extending 2.2 miles( 3.5 kilometers) from the fissure.

The eruption is being closely monitored by scientists at the Icelandic Meteorological Office and University of Iceland. Because this event took place away from the icecaps of Vatnajökull and Dyngjujökull, this event did not generate a large ash plume like that of the Eyjafjallajöull eruption in Iceland in 2010.

Image credit: NASA/JPL/EO-1 Mission/GSFC/Ashley Davies

Note: For more information, see PIA18799: Iceland Volcanic Eruption Monitored by NASA EO-1 Spacecraft