Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights

ISS006 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights

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ISS006-E-49770 The Caucasus Mts, Black Sea: Taken in the late afternoon on 2 March 2003, this wideangle view (28 mm lens focal length) shows the snow-capped range stretching left to right right across the view. The Black Sea is the dark blue surface lower left and the Caspian Sea a similar smooth surface top right. Dominating the whole view are clouds in lines sweeping around a mid-latitude winter storm. The cloud pattern gives a strong sense of air movement. The storm, whose center lies outside the picture to the left, is drawing in air from the south (bottom of the view), over the Caucasus range and then sweeping west (left). A flat deck of stratus cloud lies beneath these cloud lines on the north side of the range.

ISS006-E-27767 The Great Bend of the Nile, by Day & Night: Halfway between the Nile delta in the north and the Sudanese border in the south, the Nile River cuts a deep U-shaped bend into the desert near Luxor. A mosaic of three digital photographs taken from the International Space Station shows the regional pattern and context of Nile agriculture in the desert. Viewed during the day, the dark river channel is bordered by green fields of the intensely farmed floodplain, with a few grayer areas showing the locations of urban areas. The sharp margins of the agriculture generally mark a distinct break between the valley floor and local dry wadis that lead down from the desert plateau. The patchy green areas at places along the edge of the floodplain (very prominent south of Naj’ Hammadi) indicate where irrigation has expanded up onto the dry slopes.
Once the sun sets over the Nile, modern lighting outlines a unique set of features. Later in his tenure on the space station, Astronaut Don Petit used his “barn door tracker” to take this nighttime photograph of the bend in the Nile. We expect to be able to identify cities at night by their bright lighting. By comparing the daytime and nighttime views of Nile, we can see that lights follow geological patterns as well. A faint strip of shoreline lights outlines the dark line of the river. Cities such as Luxor and Qena are bright and striking. Well-lit roads, such as the one from Luxor to its airport can be distinguished. A very unique feature of this night photograph is that the pattern of settlements on the slopes rising from the Nile valley produces the final outside strip of lighting.
The Nile has entrenched itself by erosion into the desert plateau by 1000-1500 feet, producing a maze of steep sided valleys, many with cliffs. The older upper surface of the plateau is slightly darker than the younger valley surfaces eroded into it due to the buildup of darker “desert varnish” minerals on rock surfaces. The older surfaces show another interesting geological feature known as eolian streaks. These are two-dimensional features generated by dominant winds from the northwest. These are long, lighter colored features of moving sand (or areas where sand has been swept away).
Luxor (the ancient Thebes) is the location of the great necropolis known as the Valley of the Kings. By using the full detail in one of the space station photographs (circled), we can see the light colors exposed from archaeological excavation. The valley is a narrow, easily defended ravine where the plateau extends closest to the Nile and to the city of Luxor. Possibly more important was the valley’s symbolic location on the west side of the Nile in the direction of the setting sun, which was associated with the afterlife. The sun passed over the pharaoh’s mortuary temple, built for their cult on the floodplain near Thebes, and then over the pharaoh’s tomb in the valley, a symbolically important connection.

ISS006-E-27768 The Great Bend of the Nile, by Day & Night: Halfway between the Nile delta in the north and the Sudanese border in the south, the Nile River cuts a deep U-shaped bend into the desert near Luxor. A mosaic of three digital photographs taken from the International Space Station shows the regional pattern and context of Nile agriculture in the desert. Viewed during the day, the dark river channel is bordered by green fields of the intensely farmed floodplain, with a few grayer areas showing the locations of urban areas. The sharp margins of the agriculture generally mark a distinct break between the valley floor and local dry wadis that lead down from the desert plateau. The patchy green areas at places along the edge of the floodplain (very prominent south of Naj’ Hammadi) indicate where irrigation has expanded up onto the dry slopes.
Once the sun sets over the Nile, modern lighting outlines a unique set of features. Later in his tenure on the space station, Astronaut Don Petit used his “barn door tracker” to take this nighttime photograph of the bend in the Nile. We expect to be able to identify cities at night by their bright lighting. By comparing the daytime and nighttime views of Nile, we can see that lights follow geological patterns as well. A faint strip of shoreline lights outlines the dark line of the river. Cities such as Luxor and Qena are bright and striking. Well-lit roads, such as the one from Luxor to its airport can be distinguished. A very unique feature of this night photograph is that the pattern of settlements on the slopes rising from the Nile valley produces the final outside strip of lighting.
The Nile has entrenched itself by erosion into the desert plateau by 1000-1500 feet, producing a maze of steep sided valleys, many with cliffs. The older upper surface of the plateau is slightly darker than the younger valley surfaces eroded into it due to the buildup of darker “desert varnish” minerals on rock surfaces. The older surfaces show another interesting geological feature known as eolian streaks. These are two-dimensional features generated by dominant winds from the northwest. These are long, lighter colored features of moving sand (or areas where sand has been swept away).
Luxor (the ancient Thebes) is the location of the great necropolis known as the Valley of the Kings. By using the full detail in one of the space station photographs (circled), we can see the light colors exposed from archaeological excavation. The valley is a narrow, easily defended ravine where the plateau extends closest to the Nile and to the city of Luxor. Possibly more important was the valley’s symbolic location on the west side of the Nile in the direction of the setting sun, which was associated with the afterlife. The sun passed over the pharaoh’s mortuary temple, built for their cult on the floodplain near Thebes, and then over the pharaoh’s tomb in the valley, a symbolically important connection.

ISS006-E-27770 The Great Bend of the Nile, by Day & Night: Halfway between the Nile delta in the north and the Sudanese border in the south, the Nile River cuts a deep U-shaped bend into the desert near Luxor. A mosaic of three digital photographs taken from the International Space Station shows the regional pattern and context of Nile agriculture in the desert. Viewed during the day, the dark river channel is bordered by green fields of the intensely farmed floodplain, with a few grayer areas showing the locations of urban areas. The sharp margins of the agriculture generally mark a distinct break between the valley floor and local dry wadis that lead down from the desert plateau. The patchy green areas at places along the edge of the floodplain (very prominent south of Naj’ Hammadi) indicate where irrigation has expanded up onto the dry slopes.
Once the sun sets over the Nile, modern lighting outlines a unique set of features. Later in his tenure on the space station, Astronaut Don Petit used his “barn door tracker” to take this nighttime photograph of the bend in the Nile. We expect to be able to identify cities at night by their bright lighting. By comparing the daytime and nighttime views of Nile, we can see that lights follow geological patterns as well. A faint strip of shoreline lights outlines the dark line of the river. Cities such as Luxor and Qena are bright and striking. Well-lit roads, such as the one from Luxor to its airport can be distinguished. A very unique feature of this night photograph is that the pattern of settlements on the slopes rising from the Nile valley produces the final outside strip of lighting.
The Nile has entrenched itself by erosion into the desert plateau by 1000-1500 feet, producing a maze of steep sided valleys, many with cliffs. The older upper surface of the plateau is slightly darker than the younger valley surfaces eroded into it due to the buildup of darker “desert varnish” minerals on rock surfaces. The older surfaces show another interesting geological feature known as eolian streaks. These are two-dimensional features generated by dominant winds from the northwest. These are long, lighter colored features of moving sand (or areas where sand has been swept away).
Luxor (the ancient Thebes) is the location of the great necropolis known as the Valley of the Kings. By using the full detail in one of the space station photographs (circled), we can see the light colors exposed from archaeological excavation. The valley is a narrow, easily defended ravine where the plateau extends closest to the Nile and to the city of Luxor. Possibly more important was the valley’s symbolic location on the west side of the Nile in the direction of the setting sun, which was associated with the afterlife. The sun passed over the pharaoh’s mortuary temple, built for their cult on the floodplain near Thebes, and then over the pharaoh’s tomb in the valley, a symbolically important connection.

ISS006-E-44645 The Great Bend of the Nile, by Day & Night: Halfway between the Nile delta in the north and the Sudanese border in the south, the Nile River cuts a deep U-shaped bend into the desert near Luxor. A mosaic of three digital photographs taken from the International Space Station shows the regional pattern and context of Nile agriculture in the desert. Viewed during the day, the dark river channel is bordered by green fields of the intensely farmed floodplain, with a few grayer areas showing the locations of urban areas. The sharp margins of the agriculture generally mark a distinct break between the valley floor and local dry wadis that lead down from the desert plateau. The patchy green areas at places along the edge of the floodplain (very prominent south of Naj’ Hammadi) indicate where irrigation has expanded up onto the dry slopes.
Once the sun sets over the Nile, modern lighting outlines a unique set of features. Later in his tenure on the space station, Astronaut Don Petit used his “barn door tracker” to take this nighttime photograph of the bend in the Nile. We expect to be able to identify cities at night by their bright lighting. By comparing the daytime and nighttime views of Nile, we can see that lights follow geological patterns as well. A faint strip of shoreline lights outlines the dark line of the river. Cities such as Luxor and Qena are bright and striking. Well-lit roads, such as the one from Luxor to its airport can be distinguished. A very unique feature of this night photograph is that the pattern of settlements on the slopes rising from the Nile valley produces the final outside strip of lighting.
The Nile has entrenched itself by erosion into the desert plateau by 1000-1500 feet, producing a maze of steep sided valleys, many with cliffs. The older upper surface of the plateau is slightly darker than the younger valley surfaces eroded into it due to the buildup of darker “desert varnish” minerals on rock surfaces. The older surfaces show another interesting geological feature known as eolian streaks. These are two-dimensional features generated by dominant winds from the northwest. These are long, lighter colored features of moving sand (or areas where sand has been swept away).
Luxor (the ancient Thebes) is the location of the great necropolis known as the Valley of the Kings. By using the full detail in one of the space station photographs (circled), we can see the light colors exposed from archaeological excavation. The valley is a narrow, easily defended ravine where the plateau extends closest to the Nile and to the city of Luxor. Possibly more important was the valley’s symbolic location on the west side of the Nile in the direction of the setting sun, which was associated with the afterlife. The sun passed over the pharaoh’s mortuary temple, built for their cult on the floodplain near Thebes, and then over the pharaoh’s tomb in the valley, a symbolically important connection.

ISS006-E-5064 (4 December 2002): The new crewmembers aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were able to document a rare occurrence early into their tour on the outpost. The dark area near Earth's horizon at center frame is actually a shadow cast by the Moon during the total solar eclipse of Dec. 4, 2002. The shadow obscures an area of cloud cover. The station, with three Expedition Six crewmembers aboard, was over the Indian Ocean at the time of the eclipse. The out-of-focus object in the foreground is part of the frame for the viewing port.

ISS006-E-5065 Don Pettit, International Space Station, Dec 4: Space Station science officer Don Pettit looked out the window on Wednesday during the total solar eclipse of Dec. 4th, and this is what he saw: The dark spot near the Earth's limb is the Moon's shadow, which at the time of the photo (approximately 0756 UT) was racing across the Indian Ocean.

ISS006-E-5070 (4 December 2002): The new crewmembers aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were able to document a rare occurrence early into their tour on the outpost. The dark area near Earth's horizon at center frame is actually a shadow cast by the Moon during the total solar eclipse of Dec. 4, 2002. The shadow obscures an area of cloud cover. The station, with three Expedition Six crewmembers aboard, was over the Indian Ocean at the time of the eclipse. The out-of-focus object in the foreground is part of the frame for the viewing port.

ISS006-E-38306 Arid Coast of Peru:
Following the last major upheaval of the Andes Mountains, rivers flowing down into the Pacific Ocean have carved dramatic canyons along Peru’s southern coast. In geologic terms, the canyons are relatively young—carved over the past 8 million years. This oblique (off-vertical) image from March 14, 2003, provides a southward look down Peru’s rugged, arid coastline between 15.5 and 17 degrees South latitude. The canyons run from left to right and appear grayer than the surrounding reddish-brown terrain.
The canyons found here are some of the deepest and steepest on Earth—lake Laguna Parincocha (top left corner) lies on the Andean plateau about 3,250 meters (10,700 feet) above sea level, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the coast. At lower left, a dense pattern of parallel grooves has been carved into a sheet of volcanic rock by now-dry streams. The volcanic rock is a kind called ignimbrite, which is the result of an eruption of hot gases and small rock fragments that flow from the volcano like a fluid (a pyroclastic flow). In an ignimbrite, the rock fragments are mostly pumice, a lightweight volcanic glass full of cavities.
The Yauca and Acarí rivers feed small, tan-colored sediment plumes into the sea (lower right). Dark green agricultural fields cluster along the lower courses of the rivers. Strong southerly winds have generated sand dunes and dark wind streaks along the coast, whose alignments re-curve inland into the lower river valleys (lower right). The coast and canyons are commonly hazy due to oceanic air and blowing dust. Yellow lines parallel with the coast and near the small peninsula are raised shorelines probably caused by tectonic uplift of the coastline.

ISS006-E-28546 Popocatepetl and Iztaccíhuatl Volcanoes, Mexico:
As part of the circum-Pacific “Ring of Fire,” Mexico hosts several of the world’s most continually active volcanoes, including the massive Popocatepetl (Aztec for “smoking mountain.”) This detailed, oblique astronaut photograph also depicts a neighboring volcano, Iztaccíhuatl (the “Woman in White.”) With North to the right in the scene, the view is a westward-looking perspective.
The faint plume emanating from Popocatepetl’s 250- to 450-meter-deep summit crater attests to the significant, ever-present hazard the volcano represents to the 25 million people living in the region, including the nearby city of Amecameca, as well as the metropolitan centers of Mexico City to the northwest and Puebla to the east.
Popocatepetl has produced small, intermittent eruptions since 1994. In addition to the constant danger of eruptions producing ash deposits, pyroclastic flows, and lava (see an earlier astronaut photograph of Popocatepetl erupting), the summit of Popocatepetl also hosts glaciers. These can melt during eruptions to form dangerous mudflows that blanket areas to the south.
In contrast to Popocatepetl’s well-defined symmetrical cone, Iztaccíhuatl is formed from several overlapping smaller cones that trend north-northwest to south-southeast. Glaciers and year-round snow are also present on Iztaccíhuatl (white regions along the peaks). Deep valleys have been eroded into the massive apron of ash and pumice deposits, glacial outwash, and alluvium to the east of the volcano. Despite its close proximity, similar age, and similar geologic character to Popocatepetl, Iztaccíhuatl has not erupted in historic times. This has encouraged the establishment of numerous agricultural fields (visible as faint rectilinear patterns in the lower half of the image) on the eastern flank of the mountain.

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ISS006-E-49770	The Caucasus Mts, Black Sea: Taken in the late afternoon on 2 March 2003, this wideangle view (28 mm lens focal length) shows the snow-capped range stretching left to right right across the view. The Black Sea is the dark blue surface lower left and the Caspian Sea a similar smooth surface top right. Dominating the whole view are clouds in lines sweeping around a mid-latitude winter storm. The cloud pattern gives a strong sense of air movement. The storm, whose center lies outside the picture to the left, is drawing in air from the south (bottom of the view), over the Caucasus range and then sweeping west (left). A flat deck of stratus cloud lies beneath these cloud lines on the north side of the range.
ISS006-E-27767	The Great Bend of the Nile, by Day & Night: Halfway between the Nile delta in the north and the Sudanese border in the south, the Nile River cuts a deep U-shaped bend into the desert near Luxor. A mosaic of three digital photographs taken from the International Space Station shows the regional pattern and context of Nile agriculture in the desert. Viewed during the day, the dark river channel is bordered by green fields of the intensely farmed floodplain, with a few grayer areas showing the locations of urban areas. The sharp margins of the agriculture generally mark a distinct break between the valley floor and local dry wadis that lead down from the desert plateau. The patchy green areas at places along the edge of the floodplain (very prominent south of Naj’ Hammadi) indicate where irrigation has expanded up onto the dry slopes. Once the sun sets over the Nile, modern lighting outlines a unique set of features. Later in his tenure on the space station, Astronaut Don Petit used his “barn door tracker” to take this nighttime photograph of the bend in the Nile. We expect to be able to identify cities at night by their bright lighting. By comparing the daytime and nighttime views of Nile, we can see that lights follow geological patterns as well. A faint strip of shoreline lights outlines the dark line of the river. Cities such as Luxor and Qena are bright and striking. Well-lit roads, such as the one from Luxor to its airport can be distinguished. A very unique feature of this night photograph is that the pattern of settlements on the slopes rising from the Nile valley produces the final outside strip of lighting. The Nile has entrenched itself by erosion into the desert plateau by 1000-1500 feet, producing a maze of steep sided valleys, many with cliffs. The older upper surface of the plateau is slightly darker than the younger valley surfaces eroded into it due to the buildup of darker “desert varnish” minerals on rock surfaces. The older surfaces show another interesting geological feature known as eolian streaks. These are two-dimensional features generated by dominant winds from the northwest. These are long, lighter colored features of moving sand (or areas where sand has been swept away). Luxor (the ancient Thebes) is the location of the great necropolis known as the Valley of the Kings. By using the full detail in one of the space station photographs (circled), we can see the light colors exposed from archaeological excavation. The valley is a narrow, easily defended ravine where the plateau extends closest to the Nile and to the city of Luxor. Possibly more important was the valley’s symbolic location on the west side of the Nile in the direction of the setting sun, which was associated with the afterlife. The sun passed over the pharaoh’s mortuary temple, built for their cult on the floodplain near Thebes, and then over the pharaoh’s tomb in the valley, a symbolically important connection.
ISS006-E-27768	The Great Bend of the Nile, by Day & Night: Halfway between the Nile delta in the north and the Sudanese border in the south, the Nile River cuts a deep U-shaped bend into the desert near Luxor. A mosaic of three digital photographs taken from the International Space Station shows the regional pattern and context of Nile agriculture in the desert. Viewed during the day, the dark river channel is bordered by green fields of the intensely farmed floodplain, with a few grayer areas showing the locations of urban areas. The sharp margins of the agriculture generally mark a distinct break between the valley floor and local dry wadis that lead down from the desert plateau. The patchy green areas at places along the edge of the floodplain (very prominent south of Naj’ Hammadi) indicate where irrigation has expanded up onto the dry slopes. Once the sun sets over the Nile, modern lighting outlines a unique set of features. Later in his tenure on the space station, Astronaut Don Petit used his “barn door tracker” to take this nighttime photograph of the bend in the Nile. We expect to be able to identify cities at night by their bright lighting. By comparing the daytime and nighttime views of Nile, we can see that lights follow geological patterns as well. A faint strip of shoreline lights outlines the dark line of the river. Cities such as Luxor and Qena are bright and striking. Well-lit roads, such as the one from Luxor to its airport can be distinguished. A very unique feature of this night photograph is that the pattern of settlements on the slopes rising from the Nile valley produces the final outside strip of lighting. The Nile has entrenched itself by erosion into the desert plateau by 1000-1500 feet, producing a maze of steep sided valleys, many with cliffs. The older upper surface of the plateau is slightly darker than the younger valley surfaces eroded into it due to the buildup of darker “desert varnish” minerals on rock surfaces. The older surfaces show another interesting geological feature known as eolian streaks. These are two-dimensional features generated by dominant winds from the northwest. These are long, lighter colored features of moving sand (or areas where sand has been swept away). Luxor (the ancient Thebes) is the location of the great necropolis known as the Valley of the Kings. By using the full detail in one of the space station photographs (circled), we can see the light colors exposed from archaeological excavation. The valley is a narrow, easily defended ravine where the plateau extends closest to the Nile and to the city of Luxor. Possibly more important was the valley’s symbolic location on the west side of the Nile in the direction of the setting sun, which was associated with the afterlife. The sun passed over the pharaoh’s mortuary temple, built for their cult on the floodplain near Thebes, and then over the pharaoh’s tomb in the valley, a symbolically important connection.
ISS006-E-27770	The Great Bend of the Nile, by Day & Night: Halfway between the Nile delta in the north and the Sudanese border in the south, the Nile River cuts a deep U-shaped bend into the desert near Luxor. A mosaic of three digital photographs taken from the International Space Station shows the regional pattern and context of Nile agriculture in the desert. Viewed during the day, the dark river channel is bordered by green fields of the intensely farmed floodplain, with a few grayer areas showing the locations of urban areas. The sharp margins of the agriculture generally mark a distinct break between the valley floor and local dry wadis that lead down from the desert plateau. The patchy green areas at places along the edge of the floodplain (very prominent south of Naj’ Hammadi) indicate where irrigation has expanded up onto the dry slopes. Once the sun sets over the Nile, modern lighting outlines a unique set of features. Later in his tenure on the space station, Astronaut Don Petit used his “barn door tracker” to take this nighttime photograph of the bend in the Nile. We expect to be able to identify cities at night by their bright lighting. By comparing the daytime and nighttime views of Nile, we can see that lights follow geological patterns as well. A faint strip of shoreline lights outlines the dark line of the river. Cities such as Luxor and Qena are bright and striking. Well-lit roads, such as the one from Luxor to its airport can be distinguished. A very unique feature of this night photograph is that the pattern of settlements on the slopes rising from the Nile valley produces the final outside strip of lighting. The Nile has entrenched itself by erosion into the desert plateau by 1000-1500 feet, producing a maze of steep sided valleys, many with cliffs. The older upper surface of the plateau is slightly darker than the younger valley surfaces eroded into it due to the buildup of darker “desert varnish” minerals on rock surfaces. The older surfaces show another interesting geological feature known as eolian streaks. These are two-dimensional features generated by dominant winds from the northwest. These are long, lighter colored features of moving sand (or areas where sand has been swept away). Luxor (the ancient Thebes) is the location of the great necropolis known as the Valley of the Kings. By using the full detail in one of the space station photographs (circled), we can see the light colors exposed from archaeological excavation. The valley is a narrow, easily defended ravine where the plateau extends closest to the Nile and to the city of Luxor. Possibly more important was the valley’s symbolic location on the west side of the Nile in the direction of the setting sun, which was associated with the afterlife. The sun passed over the pharaoh’s mortuary temple, built for their cult on the floodplain near Thebes, and then over the pharaoh’s tomb in the valley, a symbolically important connection.
ISS006-E-44645	The Great Bend of the Nile, by Day & Night: Halfway between the Nile delta in the north and the Sudanese border in the south, the Nile River cuts a deep U-shaped bend into the desert near Luxor. A mosaic of three digital photographs taken from the International Space Station shows the regional pattern and context of Nile agriculture in the desert. Viewed during the day, the dark river channel is bordered by green fields of the intensely farmed floodplain, with a few grayer areas showing the locations of urban areas. The sharp margins of the agriculture generally mark a distinct break between the valley floor and local dry wadis that lead down from the desert plateau. The patchy green areas at places along the edge of the floodplain (very prominent south of Naj’ Hammadi) indicate where irrigation has expanded up onto the dry slopes. Once the sun sets over the Nile, modern lighting outlines a unique set of features. Later in his tenure on the space station, Astronaut Don Petit used his “barn door tracker” to take this nighttime photograph of the bend in the Nile. We expect to be able to identify cities at night by their bright lighting. By comparing the daytime and nighttime views of Nile, we can see that lights follow geological patterns as well. A faint strip of shoreline lights outlines the dark line of the river. Cities such as Luxor and Qena are bright and striking. Well-lit roads, such as the one from Luxor to its airport can be distinguished. A very unique feature of this night photograph is that the pattern of settlements on the slopes rising from the Nile valley produces the final outside strip of lighting. The Nile has entrenched itself by erosion into the desert plateau by 1000-1500 feet, producing a maze of steep sided valleys, many with cliffs. The older upper surface of the plateau is slightly darker than the younger valley surfaces eroded into it due to the buildup of darker “desert varnish” minerals on rock surfaces. The older surfaces show another interesting geological feature known as eolian streaks. These are two-dimensional features generated by dominant winds from the northwest. These are long, lighter colored features of moving sand (or areas where sand has been swept away). Luxor (the ancient Thebes) is the location of the great necropolis known as the Valley of the Kings. By using the full detail in one of the space station photographs (circled), we can see the light colors exposed from archaeological excavation. The valley is a narrow, easily defended ravine where the plateau extends closest to the Nile and to the city of Luxor. Possibly more important was the valley’s symbolic location on the west side of the Nile in the direction of the setting sun, which was associated with the afterlife. The sun passed over the pharaoh’s mortuary temple, built for their cult on the floodplain near Thebes, and then over the pharaoh’s tomb in the valley, a symbolically important connection.
ISS006-E-5064	(4 December 2002): The new crewmembers aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were able to document a rare occurrence early into their tour on the outpost. The dark area near Earth's horizon at center frame is actually a shadow cast by the Moon during the total solar eclipse of Dec. 4, 2002. The shadow obscures an area of cloud cover. The station, with three Expedition Six crewmembers aboard, was over the Indian Ocean at the time of the eclipse. The out-of-focus object in the foreground is part of the frame for the viewing port.
ISS006-E-5065	Don Pettit, International Space Station, Dec 4: Space Station science officer Don Pettit looked out the window on Wednesday during the total solar eclipse of Dec. 4th, and this is what he saw: The dark spot near the Earth's limb is the Moon's shadow, which at the time of the photo (approximately 0756 UT) was racing across the Indian Ocean.
ISS006-E-5070	(4 December 2002): The new crewmembers aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were able to document a rare occurrence early into their tour on the outpost. The dark area near Earth's horizon at center frame is actually a shadow cast by the Moon during the total solar eclipse of Dec. 4, 2002. The shadow obscures an area of cloud cover. The station, with three Expedition Six crewmembers aboard, was over the Indian Ocean at the time of the eclipse. The out-of-focus object in the foreground is part of the frame for the viewing port.
ISS006-E-38306	Arid Coast of Peru: Following the last major upheaval of the Andes Mountains, rivers flowing down into the Pacific Ocean have carved dramatic canyons along Peru’s southern coast. In geologic terms, the canyons are relatively young—carved over the past 8 million years. This oblique (off-vertical) image from March 14, 2003, provides a southward look down Peru’s rugged, arid coastline between 15.5 and 17 degrees South latitude. The canyons run from left to right and appear grayer than the surrounding reddish-brown terrain. The canyons found here are some of the deepest and steepest on Earth—lake Laguna Parincocha (top left corner) lies on the Andean plateau about 3,250 meters (10,700 feet) above sea level, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the coast. At lower left, a dense pattern of parallel grooves has been carved into a sheet of volcanic rock by now-dry streams. The volcanic rock is a kind called ignimbrite, which is the result of an eruption of hot gases and small rock fragments that flow from the volcano like a fluid (a pyroclastic flow). In an ignimbrite, the rock fragments are mostly pumice, a lightweight volcanic glass full of cavities. The Yauca and Acarí rivers feed small, tan-colored sediment plumes into the sea (lower right). Dark green agricultural fields cluster along the lower courses of the rivers. Strong southerly winds have generated sand dunes and dark wind streaks along the coast, whose alignments re-curve inland into the lower river valleys (lower right). The coast and canyons are commonly hazy due to oceanic air and blowing dust. Yellow lines parallel with the coast and near the small peninsula are raised shorelines probably caused by tectonic uplift of the coastline.
ISS006-E-28546	Popocatepetl and Iztaccíhuatl Volcanoes, Mexico: As part of the circum-Pacific “Ring of Fire,” Mexico hosts several of the world’s most continually active volcanoes, including the massive Popocatepetl (Aztec for “smoking mountain.”) This detailed, oblique astronaut photograph also depicts a neighboring volcano, Iztaccíhuatl (the “Woman in White.”) With North to the right in the scene, the view is a westward-looking perspective. The faint plume emanating from Popocatepetl’s 250- to 450-meter-deep summit crater attests to the significant, ever-present hazard the volcano represents to the 25 million people living in the region, including the nearby city of Amecameca, as well as the metropolitan centers of Mexico City to the northwest and Puebla to the east. Popocatepetl has produced small, intermittent eruptions since 1994. In addition to the constant danger of eruptions producing ash deposits, pyroclastic flows, and lava (see an earlier astronaut photograph of Popocatepetl erupting), the summit of Popocatepetl also hosts glaciers. These can melt during eruptions to form dangerous mudflows that blanket areas to the south. In contrast to Popocatepetl’s well-defined symmetrical cone, Iztaccíhuatl is formed from several overlapping smaller cones that trend north-northwest to south-southeast. Glaciers and year-round snow are also present on Iztaccíhuatl (white regions along the peaks). Deep valleys have been eroded into the massive apron of ash and pumice deposits, glacial outwash, and alluvium to the east of the volcano. Despite its close proximity, similar age, and similar geologic character to Popocatepetl, Iztaccíhuatl has not erupted in historic times. This has encouraged the establishment of numerous agricultural fields (visible as faint rectilinear patterns in the lower half of the image) on the eastern flank of the mountain.