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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS059-E-67912 Date: May 2019
Geographic Region: AUSTRALIA-SA
Feature: DUNES, LAKE EYRE, DESERT

Ordering information for space photography
 
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  View Low-Resolution Image  
  Simpson Desert, Australia

This photograph, taken by an astronaut on the International Space Station, offers a detailed view of parallel, linear dunes in Australia's Simpson Desert. The dunes have formed as a result of wind erosion and sand deposition taking place over thousands of years. Some of the dunes stretch more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) in length.

Lake Eyre - also known as Kati Thanda - Lake Eyre - is Australia's largest salt lake. Some of it is visible in the right corner of the image, along with other playa lakes that stand out from the rippled landscape. Playas are flat, shallow lake beds that occur in arid and semi-arid climate zones. The dry lake beds are lighter in color due to a thin layer of salt deposits that reflect more light.

The Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre basin spans parts of South Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland, and New South Wales. It is part of one of the world's largest internally draining river systems, which means that the rivers in the photo do not drain into the ocean. In this photo, Lake Eyre has a higher volume of water than usual due to flooding that occurred earlier in the year.

 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 509k
Mission: ISS059  
Roll - Frame: E - 67912
Geographical Name: AUSTRALIA-SA  
Features: DUNES, LAKE EYRE, DESERT  
Center Lat x Lon: 27.5S x 137.3E
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera: N8
 
Camera Tilt: 34   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 210  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: E   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: 20190519   YYYYMMDD
Time: 221753   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 28.4S  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 135.0E  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 63   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 223   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 7   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: BASIN, DESERT, EROSION  
Water Views: FLOODING, LAKE, OCEAN, PLAYA, RIVER  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views: AGRICULTURE  
City Views:  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


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