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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS010-E-5266 Date: Oct. 2004
Geographic Region: LIBYA
Feature: AL KHUFRAH OASIS, AGR., ROADS

Ordering information for space photography
 
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  View Low-Resolution Image  
  Green circles in the desert frequently indicate tracts of agriculture supported by center-pivot irrigation. The Al Khufrah Oasis in southeastern Libya (near the Egyptian border) is one of Libya's largest agricultural projects, and is an easy-to-recognize landmark for orbiting astronauts aboard the International Space Station. Because only about 2 percent of Libya's land receives enough rainfall to be cultivated, this project uses fossil water from a large underground aquifer. The Libyan government also has a plan called the Great Man Made River to pump and transport these groundwater reserves to the coast to support Libya's growing population and industrial development.

The center-pivot irrigation system pumps water under pressure into a gantry or tubular arm from a central source. Anchored by a central pivot, the gantry slowly rotates over the area to be irrigated, thereby producing the circular patterns. Although the field diameters vary, these fields are approximately 0.6 mile (1 kilometer) in diameter. Darker colors indicate fields where such crops as wheat and alfalfa are grown. Lighter colors can indicate a variety of agricultural processes: fields that have been harvested recently; fields that are lying fallow; fields that have just been planted; or fields that have been taken out of production.
 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 455k
Mission: ISS010  
Roll - Frame: E - 5266
Geographical Name: LIBYA  
Features: AL KHUFRAH OASIS, AGR., ROADS  
Center Lat x Lon: 24.0N x 23.5E
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera: E4
 
Camera Tilt: 19   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 180  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: W   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number: 1922  
 
Date: 20041028   YYYYMMDD
Time: 065827   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 23.9N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 24.6E  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 124   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 195   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 31   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: COAST, DESERT  
Water Views:  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views: AGRICULTURE, PIVOT IRRIGATION  
City Views:  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


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