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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS047-E-57176 Date: Apr. 2016
Geographic Region: SAUDI ARABIA
Feature: PAN- AL QASSIM, EARTH LIMB, ARABIAN PENINSULA, ARCUS CLOUDS, CUMULONIMBUS

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  View Low-Resolution Image  
  A Dusty View of the Al Qassim Region

A line of thunderclouds was marching past the Al Qassim region of central Saudi Arabia when an astronaut on the International Space Station shot this oblique photograph. These storm clouds made their way south and were likely related to heavy rainfall and deadly flooding in Yemen on April 13-14, 2016.

Thick dust obscures part of the Arabian Desert from our view - a frequent impediment to clear photos of the region. Some of the dark features are rock outcrops, which can rise up to 300 meters (1000 feet) above the surrounding desert floor. The gradual fade from blue to black above the clouds marks the transition from the Earth's atmosphere to space.

Dark, vegetated patches that stand out from the orange desert sand are pivot irrigation agricultural fields on the high eastern plateau of the Ad Dahna Desert. Saudi Arabian farmers produce grains, fruits, and vegetables in the middle of the desert. Agriculture has been sustained here in recent decades through water pumping from underground aquifers. This water is considered a non-renewable resource because the region's scant rainfall is not sufficient to recharge the aquifers to meet the demand. No permanently flowing rivers exist in Saudi Arabia.

 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 50k
Mission: ISS047  
Roll - Frame: E - 57176
Geographical Name: SAUDI ARABIA  
Features: PAN- AL QASSIM, EARTH LIMB, ARABIAN PENINSULA, ARCUS CLOUDS, CUMULONIMBUS  
Center Lat x Lon: 24.4N x 43.1E
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 75
 
Camera: N6
 
Camera Tilt: HO   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 400  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: S   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:  
 
Date: 20160413   YYYYMMDD
Time: 112744   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 37.6N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 44.1E  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 238   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 214   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 47   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views:  
Water Views:  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views:  
City Views:  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


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