Earth from Space - Image Description

Central Africa Dust Storm:
This image was taken from the International Space Station on March 8, 2004, from a position about 1400 kilometers off the coast of Mauritania (about 600 kilometers west of the Cape Verde Islands). Looking northwest, this image shows the dusty Saharan airmass in the lower third of the view, with clear air beyond a marked northeast-trending boundary. The dust is blowing west southwest, parallel to the front--a common trajectory during northern winters. The width of the dust column was about 1800 kilometers, of which only 200 kilometers is seen here.

This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Earth Science & Remote Sensing Unit, ARES Division, Exploration Integration Science Directorate.