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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS067-E-253753 Date: Aug. 2022
Geographic Region: IRELAND
Feature: CELTIC SEA, IRISH SEA, ST.GEORGE'S CHANNEL, NORTH CHANNEL, BRISTOL CHANNEL, ENGLISH CHANNEL, SEDIMENT

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  Great Britain and Ireland Show Their Colors

An astronaut on the International Space Station took this photograph during a rare clear day over Ireland and Great Britain. The wide view captures the contrasting colors of various land cover types present across the two islands.

Coastal mountains and rough terrain flank the western edge of Ireland, making the peninsulas there appear browner than the more vegetated (green) areas of central Ireland. The central region is composed of plains with bogs and hilly lowlands, largely consisting of assorted forests, agriculture, and pastures. Similar green tones carry over to the western side of Great Britain.

Many of the tan areas on the eastern side of Great Britain are within a rain shadow created by the uplands and mountains to the west. Weather systems move from west to east, and higher elevation areas on the west receive more rainfall than the lower eastern side. The tan color reflects grasslands where the vegetation was stressed due to high temperatures and drought conditions when this image was taken in summer 2022.

Cities are scattered across both islands, visible as dark-gray and white areas. Great Britain has the highest population density in the region, as indicated by the spatially extensive urban and suburban colors around London, Birmingham, and Manchester.

Across both islands, more than 78,200 square kilometers (30,200 square miles) of land (24 percent) is dedicated to conservation. These areas protect over 10,000 habitats that are used for breeding, migration, and shelter to flora and fauna, such as wildfowl, bats, and mosses.

 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 403k
Mission: ISS067  
Roll - Frame: E - 253753
Geographical Name: IRELAND  
Features: CELTIC SEA, IRISH SEA, ST.GEORGE'S CHANNEL, NORTH CHANNEL, BRISTOL CHANNEL, ENGLISH CHANNEL, SEDIMENT  
Center Lat x Lon: 52.5N x 6W
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 25
 
Camera: N8
 
Camera Tilt: 21   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 17  
 
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:  
 
Date: 20220811   YYYYMMDD
Time: 122424   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 51.1N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 6.3W  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 177   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 219   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 54   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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