Return to Earth From Space Home
Earth from Space logo Image Information Earth from Space logo

Display a Screen Layout for Printing

IMAGE: gray corner       IMAGE: gray corner
  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS015-E-30526 Date: Sep. 2007
Geographic Region: FALKLAND ISLANDS
Feature: EAST ISLAND, FALKLAND SOUND

Ordering information for space photography
 
IMAGE: gray corner     IMAGE: gray corner

Image: gray corner     Image: gray corner
  View Low-Resolution Image  
  ISS015-E-30526 (25 Sept. 2007) --- Fires in East Falkland Island in the South Atlantic Ocean are featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 15 crewmember on the International Space Station. The Falkland Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, referred to by Argentina (which also claims the islands) as the Islas Malvinas. The main islands of East Falkland and West Falkland are separated by Falkland Sound (12 kilometers) wide at the narrow point. Together they total about the same area as the State of Connecticut or Northern Ireland. The islands lie almost 500 kilometers from the Argentine coast and less than 1,000 kilometers from Antarctica. The first air links to these remote islands were only put in place in 1971. The capital city of Stanley lies on the eastern tip of East Falkland. The local inhabitants are mainly English speakers, and interestingly, the islands have become a center of English-language learning for students from South America. The windy and relatively dry climate has given rise to natural vegetation comprised of treeless grassland with scattered bogs. The grasslands are ideal for sheep rearing which was the dominant occupation until recent decades, when fishing (mainly squid to Spain) and tourism became the mainstay of the economy. These expanses of grassland provide ready fuel for fires, as indicated by the several long smoke plumes visible in this image.




Fires, East Falkland Island, South Atlantic:

The Falkland Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, referred to by Argentina (which also claims the islands) as the Islas Malvinas. Falkland Sound, which is 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) wide at the narrow point, separates the main islands of East Falkland (image center) and West Falkland (along image left). Together they total about the same area as the State of Connecticut or Northern Ireland. The islands lie almost 500 kilometers (310 miles) from the Argentine coast and less than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from Antarctica. The first flights to these remote islands were only implemented in 1971.

The capital city of Stanley lies on the eastern tip of East Falkland. The local inhabitants are mainly English speakers, and interestingly, the islands have become a center of English-language learning for students from South America.

The windy and relatively dry climate, which receives roughly 600 millimeters (24 inches) of precipitation annually, has given rise to natural vegetation comprised of treeless grassland with scattered bogs. The grasslands are ideal for sheep rearing--the dominant occupation until recent decades, when fishing (mainly squid for Spain) and tourism became the mainstays of the economy. These expanses of grassland provide ready fuel for fires, as indicated by the several long smoke plumes visible in this astronaut photograph. This near-nadir image was acquired at the southernmost extent of the International Space Station's latitudinal orbit range of approximately 52 degrees north to 52 degrees south relative to the surface of the Earth.
 
Image: gray corner     Image: gray corner

Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 535k
Mission: ISS015  
Roll - Frame: E - 30526
Geographical Name: FALKLAND ISLANDS  
Features: EAST ISLAND, FALKLAND SOUND  
Center Lat x Lon: 51.9S x 58.7W
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: 26   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 58  
 
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: 2664  
 
Date: 20070925   YYYYMMDD
Time: 183813   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 51.2S  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 57.3W  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 308   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 189   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 28   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: COAST, ISLAND  
Water Views: OCEAN  
Atmosphere Views: SMOKE  
Man Made Views:  
City Views:  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


NASA
Home Page
JSC
Home Page
JSC Digital
Image Collection
Earth Science &
Remote Sensing

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