출처 http : / / oddee . com / item _ 96548 . aspx 20 Breathtaking Satellite Views of the EarthPublished on 1 / 16 / 2009 under ScienceTAGS : Satellite photos , NASA photos , Views of the EarthBringing together imagery from many different satellites and astronaut missions , NASA ' s Earth Observatory publishes fantastic images with highly detailed descriptions , feature articles and more . Gathered here are some standout photographs from the collections in the Earth Observatory over the past years . The East African volcano Nyiragongoaccounts for 20 percent of all recorded eruptions in Africa . Thevolcano sits along the edge of the Western Rift , part of a giant crackin the Earth ’ s crust that runs for thousands of miles from the MiddleEast southward to central Africa . ( IKONOS image © 2004 GeoEye ) The alpine lakes of the Tibetan Plateau are some of the most remote inthe world . This mosaic of astronaut photographs , taken along a singleInternational Space Station orbit track , depicts Lake Puma Yumcoduring the winter season . The lake is located at an elevation of 5 , 030 meters above sea level ( 16 , 503 feet ) , and is c o nsideredultraoligotrophic , meaning that nutrient concentrations in both thewater column and lake sediments are extremely low . The most strikingfeature of the image mosaic is the intricate ice block pattern on thelake surface . ( NASA / JSC ) The Arabian Peninsula ' s Empty Quarter , known as Rub ' al Khali , is the world ' s largest sand sea , holding about half as much sand as the Sahara Desert . The Empty Quartercovers 583 , 000 square kilometers ( 225 , 000 square miles ) , and stretchesover parts of Saudi Arabia , Yemen , Oman , and the United Arab Emirates . The Enhanced Thematic Mapper on NASA ' s Landsat 7 satellite capturedthis image of the Empty Quarter on August 26 , 2001 . ( NASA / RobertSimmon , Landsat , USGS ) The Dasht - e Kevir , or Great Salt Desert , is the largest desert in Iran . It is primarilyuninhabited wasteland , composed of mud and salt marshes covered withcrusts of salt that protect the meager moisture from completelyevaporating . ( NASA / Landsat ) Even the most snow - covered place on Earth has patches of snow - freeground . In Antarctica , a series of parallel valleys lie between theRoss Sea and the East Antarctic Ice Sheet . Known as the Dry Valleys , they are swept free of snow by nearly relentless katabatic winds - cold , dry air that rolls downhill toward the sea from the highaltitudes of the ice sheet . The Dry Valleys harbor a collection ofglaciers and ice - covered lakes . This false - color image was captured bythe Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer ( ASTER ) on NASA ' s Terra satellite on November 29 , 2000 . ( NASA / JesseAllen , NASA / GSFC / METI / ERSDAC / JAROS , U . S . / Japan ASTER Science Team ) Cheju Island , alternately known as Chejudo or Jejudo , is anoval - shaped volcanic landmass covering 1 , 845 square kilometers ( 712 square miles ) off the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula . Geologistsestimate the island ’ s age at 2 million years , and archaeological findssuggest that people have lived on the island since prehistoric times . Today , Cheju is both a tourist attraction and home to a United NationsEducational , Scientific and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ) WorldHeritage site . ( NASA / Robert Simmon , Landsat , ETM +) South of Khartoum , Sudan , where the White and Blue Nile Riversjoin , a dizzying arrangement of irrigated fields stretches out acrossthe state of El Gezira . The several bare - looking patches are smallvillages . This image was captured by the Advanced Spaceborne ThermalEmission and Reflection Radiometer ( ASTER ) on NASA ' s Terra satellite onDecember 25 , 2006 . ( NASA / GSFC / METI / ERSDAC / JAROS , U . S . / Japan ASTERScience Team ) Deriba Caldera is a geologically young volcanic structurelocated at the top of the Marra Mountains of western Sudan . The MarraMountains are part of a large geologic feature known as the DarfurDome . The dome appears to be the result of a mantle plume , which is afixed “ hotspot ” in the Earth ’ s mantle ( the layer of Earth below thecrust ) . The mantle plume heated the crust from below , leading to upliftof the crust and providing a magma source for the extensive volcanismobserved in the region . The 5 - kilometer - wide Deriba Caldera was formedby explosive eruption of the Jebel Marra Volcano approximately 3 , 500 years ago . The volcano is considered dormant , rather than extinct , ashot springs and fumaroles ( gas and steam vents ) are still present . ( NASA - JSC ) Thisimage , captured on January 21 , 2005 , shows just how close this two icygiants came to each other . At upper left is the tip of the Drygalski Ice Tongue , while at bottom is the northernmost portion of the B - 15 A iceberg . Thedistance between them was less than 5 kilometers on this day . ( NASA / USGS ) Green circles in the desert frequently indicate tracts of agriculture supported by center - pivot irrigation . The Al Khufrah Oasisin southeastern Libya ( near the Egyptian border ) is one of Libya ’ slargest agricultural projects , and is an easy - to - recognize landmark fororbiting astronauts aboard the International Space Station . ( NASA / JSC ) Cloudlessskies allowed a clear view of Tibet in mid - December 2008 . The ModerateResolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ( MODIS ) flying onboard NASA ' sTerra satellite captured this true - color , image on December 18 , 2008 . Snow caps some mountain peaks , and ice partially covers some lakes inthis high - altitude region , nicknamed the " Roof of the World . "( NASA / Jeff Schmaltz , MODIS Rapid Response Team , Goddard Space FlightCenter ) During the last ice age , Canada ' s Akimiski Islandwas buried under several thousand meters of ice , but since its retreat , the island has rebounded ( risen in elevation ) and new beach areas haveemerged , streams and lakes have formed , and trees and other vegetationhave colonized the new territory . This image of Akimiski Island wascaptured by the Landsat 7 satellite on August 9 , 2000 . ( NASA / JesseAllen , Landsat , University of Maryland ' s Global Land Cover Facility ) Houses and streets in bustling Las Vegas , Nevada are seen in this image from the commercial IKONOS satellite taken in September of 2004 . ( IKONOS image © 2004 GeoEye ) The Bear Glacieron the Kenai Peninsula along the Gulf of Alaska seen by the IKONOSsatellite took this on August 8 , 2005 . This image shows the ablationzone where the glacier is primarily losing ice . Upslope from the lake , the foot of the glacier is riddled with crevasses - cracks in the icecaused by the glacier ' s movement over a rough surface . Down the middleof the glacier run dark gray stripes . As a glacier moves , it picks updirt and debris from the rocks it passes . When two glaciers merge , asthey have here , the dirt and debris they carry form parallel stripes , or medial moraines , on the ice surface . ( IKONOS satellite imagecourtesy GeoEye ) Driven by powerful Santa Ana winds , wildfires raged near Los Angeles , California , in mid - October 2008 . Not only did the winds fan the fires ’ flames , they also sent the smoke far out to sea . ( NASA - Aqua ) Harrat Khaybar in Saudi Arabia contains a wide range of volcanicrock types and spectacular landforms , several of which are representedin this photograph taken by an astronaut abourd the International SpaceStation on March 31 , 2008 . Jabal ( " mountain " in Arabic ) al Qidr isbuilt from several generations of dark , fluid basalt lava flows . JabalAbyad , in the center of the image , was formed from a more viscous , silica - rich lava classified as a rhyolite . ( NASA - JSC ) This image of forestin the northern Republic of Congo was captured on June 27 , 2002 , by thecommercial satellite Ikonos . Dirt logging roads ( orange lines ) crossthe center of the image . This image is one of hundreds of satelliteimages from commercial and NASA satellites that scientists from theWoods Hole Research Center used to create a map of logging roads andforest disturbance across 4 million square kilometers of tropicalAfrican forests in the three decades proceeding 2003 . ( NASA / JesseAllen , IKONOS , Nadine Laporte , Woods Hole Research Center ) The Southern Patagonian Icefield of Chile and Argentina hosts several spectacular glaciers , including this , the Grey Glacier located in the Torres del Paine National Park in Chile . It begins in the Patagonian Andes Mountains to the west and terminates in three distinct lobes into Grey Lake . ( NASA / JSC ) Two cyclones are seen , after forming in tandem in November 2006 . The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ( MODIS ) onboardNASA ' s Terra satellite took this picture of the two cyclones south ofIceland on November 20 ( South is up in image ) . ( NASA / Jesse Allen , EarthObservatory ) A blue - green veil of water tumbles 51 meters over the rocky precipice of the Niagara Fallsin this Ikonos image , acquired on August 2 , 2004 . Every second , morethan two million liters of water plummets over the half - circle of theCanadian / Horseshoe portion of the Niagara Falls , shown here , making itone of the world ’ s largest waterfalls . ( NASA / Ikonos ) If you enjoyed this article , you might also like . .. 10 Most Impressive Satellite Photos