Images
August 29, 2014 - Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia
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On August 21, 2014 the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite passed over the Lesser Sunda Islands. Despite their watery surroundings, the landscape of the islands is typical of the dry season - marked by tans and dotted by fires.
Located close to and south of the equator, the Lesser Sunda Islands have a tropical climate, without a distinct winter, summer, spring or fall. The year is broken, instead, into wet and dry seasons. Although there is some variability between islands, the wet season generally runs from November to March, and marks the time when monsoonal winds blow in from the Indian Ocean, bringing heavy rains. The shifting wind patterns carry drier air from late May to October, and less rain falls. In some areas the lush vegetation begins to die and dry and the risk of wildfires increase. The dry season is also the time when land is cleared for new cropland and pastures are renewed, often by using fire as a management tool.
The Lesser Sunda Islands are part of the arc of central Indonesia,and stretch about 1,200 km west to east. They are surrounded by the blue waters of the Timor, Sawu, Banda and Flores Seas, as well as the Indian Ocean. Many of the islands are volcanic in origin, and at least two active volcanoes - Batu Tara and Sangeang Api - lie within the area captured in this image.
The larger islands seen in this image are Timor, in the southeast, with small Roti off its southwest tip. Nearly rectangular Sawu is to the west, then larger Sumba. Flores stretches across the image in the north. At the western edge of the image a bit of Sumbawa can be seen. The small islands between Sumbawa and Flores are the home to the Komodo Dragon. The “dragons” are not mythical, fire-breathing beasts, but a type of very large –and very rare - monitor lizard.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/21/2014
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
On August 21, 2014 the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite passed over the Lesser Sunda Islands. Despite their watery surroundings, the landscape of the islands is typical of the dry season - marked by tans and dotted by fires.
Located close to and south of the equator, the Lesser Sunda Islands have a tropical climate, without a distinct winter, summer, spring or fall. The year is broken, instead, into wet and dry seasons. Although there is some variability between islands, the wet season generally runs from November to March, and marks the time when monsoonal winds blow in from the Indian Ocean, bringing heavy rains. The shifting wind patterns carry drier air from late May to October, and less rain falls. In some areas the lush vegetation begins to die and dry and the risk of wildfires increase. The dry season is also the time when land is cleared for new cropland and pastures are renewed, often by using fire as a management tool.
The Lesser Sunda Islands are part of the arc of central Indonesia,and stretch about 1,200 km west to east. They are surrounded by the blue waters of the Timor, Sawu, Banda and Flores Seas, as well as the Indian Ocean. Many of the islands are volcanic in origin, and at least two active volcanoes - Batu Tara and Sangeang Api - lie within the area captured in this image.
The larger islands seen in this image are Timor, in the southeast, with small Roti off its southwest tip. Nearly rectangular Sawu is to the west, then larger Sumba. Flores stretches across the image in the north. At the western edge of the image a bit of Sumbawa can be seen. The small islands between Sumbawa and Flores are the home to the Komodo Dragon. The “dragons” are not mythical, fire-breathing beasts, but a type of very large –and very rare - monitor lizard.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/21/2014
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
