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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS013-E-28610 Date: May 2006
Geographic Region: CAROLINE ISLANDS
Feature: NUKUORO ATOLL, INTERNAL WAVES

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  Nukuoro Atoll, Federated States of Micronesia

Located just north of the equator (3.85deg North, 154.9deg East), this classically shaped atoll is part of the Caroline Islands, which stretch northeast of Papua New Guinea in the western Pacific. (The islands are roughly north of Guadalcanal, and southeast of Guam and Truk Islands.) Nukuoro Atoll is one of 607 islands that make up the Federated States of Micronesia, a United Nations Trust Territory under U.S. administration.

The image shows the sandy atoll with 42 distinct patches of vegetation. These patches are located on the northeast and east portions of the atoll that face the dominant easterly winds. The detailed image (white box indicates area shown) shows the larger fields and settlements, which are on the inland side of the largest forest patch, protected from the wind. The land surface is probably slightly higher above sea level here because dunes build up preferentially on wind-facing slopes where beach sand is mobilized by wind. Swells driven by these winds approach from the east-southeast (right) and wrap around the atoll to produce an interference pattern on the downwind side. Water in the lagoon is notably calm in comparison. Coral heads appear in the lagoon, including one in the center of the image.

About 900 people live on Nukuoro, whose lagoon is 6 kilometers (about 3.7 miles) in diameter. Fishing, animal husbandry, and agriculture (taro and copra) are the main occupations. Nukuoro is remote. It has no airstrip, and a passenger boat calls irregularly only once a month. The tiny population speaks its own unique language.

 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 279k
Mission: ISS013  
Roll - Frame: E - 28610
Geographical Name: CAROLINE ISLANDS  
Features: NUKUORO ATOLL, INTERNAL WAVES  
Center Lat x Lon: 3.9N x 154.9E
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: 38   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 800  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: N   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: 3047  
 
Date: 20060531   YYYYMMDD
Time: 031746   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 1.7N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 156.0E  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 311   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 185   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 58   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: ATOLL, FOREST  
Water Views: LAGOON, SEA  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views: AGRICULTURE  
City Views:  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


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