Images
July 12, 2021 - Tasmania
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The heart-shaped island of Tasmania is the largest and major island of the Australian state of Tasmania. Comparable in size to the U.S. state of West Virginia or Republic of Ireland, the island sits just 150 miles (240 km) southeast of mainland Australia. Unlike Australia, parts of Tasmania were buried under glaciers repeatedly in the last 2 million years. This slow-moving and intensely heavy ice slowly carved away rock, especially in the western regions of the island where the imprint of glaciation can be seen in such features as u-shaped valleys, morainal material (rocks and soil moved by glaciers), and deeply-sculpted lakes.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of Tasmania on July 9, 2021. The blue-gray smoke that hangs over the Tasman Sea off of the southeast coast most likely is from numerous prescribed burns going in that region. Prescribed burns are used to manage land, primarily to reduce fuel and prevent larger and more destructive wildfires.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 7/9/2021
Resolutions:
1km (288.8 KB), 500m (695.7 KB), 250m (433.1 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
The heart-shaped island of Tasmania is the largest and major island of the Australian state of Tasmania. Comparable in size to the U.S. state of West Virginia or Republic of Ireland, the island sits just 150 miles (240 km) southeast of mainland Australia. Unlike Australia, parts of Tasmania were buried under glaciers repeatedly in the last 2 million years. This slow-moving and intensely heavy ice slowly carved away rock, especially in the western regions of the island where the imprint of glaciation can be seen in such features as u-shaped valleys, morainal material (rocks and soil moved by glaciers), and deeply-sculpted lakes.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of Tasmania on July 9, 2021. The blue-gray smoke that hangs over the Tasman Sea off of the southeast coast most likely is from numerous prescribed burns going in that region. Prescribed burns are used to manage land, primarily to reduce fuel and prevent larger and more destructive wildfires.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 7/9/2021
Resolutions:
1km (288.8 KB), 500m (695.7 KB), 250m (433.1 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
