Athens, Greece

Sentinel-1A radar acquisition from 22 April 2014 showing Greece’s Attica region, with mountainous areas and the capital and largest city of Athens near the center. In the water, different shades of blue indicate different types of sea surface, influenced by currents and waves. The image was acquired in ‘interferometric wide swath’ mode and with a dual polarization in VV and VH. Colors were assigned to different types of radar polarizations.

Image credit: ESA

Note: For more information, see Attica Peninsula, Greece.

Athens, Greece

This image was taken on 4 January 2013 over central Athens, the capital and largest city of Greece. Near the center of the image is the famous Acropolis of Athens – standing high about the surrounding city as evident by the shadow to the north. Nearby to the southeast is the Temple of Zeus, with shadows from the remaining standing columns stretching across the grass. Further northeast are the National Gardens surrounding the Zappeion building. At the upper left corner of the gardens is the Greek parliament building overlooking Syntagma Square. In the lower-right corner we can see the large, white marble Panathenaic Stadium.

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

Photo credit: European Space Imaging/DigitalGlobe

Northwestern Greece

The northwestern part of Greece is pictured in this image acquired on 28 April by the Landsat-8 satellite. The Ionian Sea dominates the left side of the image, with the Ambracian Gulf near the center. In the upper-left corner we can see the Paxi islands. Paxos, to the north, boasts beautiful beaches mainly along its eastern coast, with dramatic cliffs and caves dominating the west side. The smaller island to the south, Antipaxos, is also known for its beaches as well as its traditional vineyards.

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

Photo credit: USGS

Northwestern Crete

This image shows northwestern Crete, the largest and most populous of the Greek islands. It is a compilation of three radar images from Japan’s ALOS satellite acquired on 28 August 2010, 13 October 2010 and the third band created by combining the other two. In the lower-right, the bright cluster of radar reflections on the northern coast is the city of Chania, the island’s second largest city after Heraklion (not pictured). At the center of the image is the Rodopou Peninsula. Off the coast of the other peninsula to the left there are two small islands: Imeri Gramvousa to the south and Agria Gramvousa due north.

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

Image credit: JAXA, ESA

Ground Deformation at the Nea Kameni Volcano

Evolution of ground deformation over Nea Kameni Volcano (Santorini, Greece) from March 2011 to February 2012. The animation was derived using data from Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar analysis of Envisat’s radar data.

Video credit: ESA

Note: This particular island is famous for the volcanic eruption that destroyed the Minoan civilization living on the island of Thera, as Santorini was known at the time. The artwork that was preserved by the eruption is very beautiful.