Earth from space: image of the week

[jacqmans]

10 December 2010
This Envisat image features part of the Great Barrier Reef off Australia’s Queensland coast. It is the world’s most protected marine area, one of its natural wonders and a World Heritage site.

More at:

http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMU71PR9HG_index_0.html

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Siberian 'gecko'

17 December 2010
The gecko-shaped body of water featured in this Envisat image was formed by the Bratsk Reservoir in southeastern Siberia, Russia.

Read more:  http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEML1HSRJHG_index_0.html

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Image of the week

This image acquired by Envisat on 2 January shows the inundated areas currently causing misery in Australia's northeastern state of Queensland.

http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMZIN0SDIG_index_0.html

[jacqmans]

14 January 2011

This wintery ALOS image captures the German capital city of Berlin surrounded by snow. Home to 3.4 million people, Berlin has the second largest population (within city limits) in the European Union after London, UK.

More at:

http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMI754SNIG_index_0.html

[JosephB]

Are there any free websites where one can enter in a city or area and see a good collection of ISS (or other source) photos of that area from space? Thanks!

[Almurray1958]

Are there any free websites where one can enter in a city or area and see a good collection of ISS (or other source) photos of that area from space? Thanks!

http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/    Astronaut based photo archive

[JosephB]

Thanks Al!

[JosephB]

I was wondering about the status of the WORF rack on ISS.
I'm assuming some of the cameras envisaged have much better resolution than the handheld camera photos from the site above. Some are rack mounted, no?

And more to the point, would these be available to the public?

[Space Pete]

I was wondering about the status of the WORF rack on ISS.
I'm assuming some of the cameras envisaged have much better resolution than the handheld camera photos from the site above. Some are rack mounted, no?

And more to the point, would these be available to the public?

Handheld or automated cameras can be rack mounted, but I don't know whether they would have a higher resolution that current cameras.

So far, the only payloads for WORF are EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students), and ISSAC (ISS Agricultural Camera, formerly AgCam). Ron Garan wrote a blog entry about ISAAC here.

Have a watch of these two videos, they explain WORF and its features very well.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/5AAGiMPMwqI&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/5AAGiMPMwqI&rel=1</a>

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/FN9yr-pBP4M&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/FN9yr-pBP4M&rel=1</a>

[JosephB]

Thanks Pete, I have to say you've livened up this sites ISS coverage 100 fold.
For a layman like myself you'd think this rack has a lot of reconnaissance potential, either testing or operational. Are there agreements preventing such usage?

[Space Pete]

Thanks Pete, I have to say you've livened up this sites ISS coverage 100 fold.
For a layman like myself you'd think this rack has a lot of reconnaissance potential, either testing or operational. Are there agreements preventing such usage?

Thanks for the compliment.

If the reconnaissance was for military purposes, then yes, the are agreements preventing such usage.

The ISS cannot be used for military purposes by any nation. In 2008, when Russia invaded Georgia, there was a big stink when Roscosmos had a cosmonaut take photographs of the invaded area and send them down to the ground. They got out of it by saying that the images were only for the purposes of assisting with humanitarian efforts.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Queensland inundated

21 January 2011
This Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) composite image shows the flooded area around Rockhampton in Queensland, Australia.

http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMH1W6SXIG_index_0.html

[jacqmans]

28 January 2011

This composite image, acquired by Envisat's radar instrument, shows the Danube Delta, Europe's best preserved river delta.

More at:

http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEM19QBE8JG_index_0.html

[jacqmans]

4 February 2011
Acquired today by ESA's Envisat satellite, this image shows smoke pouring from Mount Shinmoedake, a volcano in the Kirishima mountain range on Japan's southern island of Kyushu.

Read more at:

http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMD6QY1LJG_index_0.html

[jacqmans]

4 February 2011
This Envisat image captures one of serial snowstorms that hit the United States during January 2011.

More at:

http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEM5IOY1LJG_index_0.html