Earth from Space - Image Information


LOCATION Photo #: STS111-E-5451 Date: Jun. 2002
Geographic Region: NORTH AMERICA
Feature: PAN-THUNDERSTORMS, ANVILS


IMAGE
 
Sharp air mass boundaries, such as this one photographed by astronauts on board the Space Shuttle on June 17 2002, often are the focus of development for severe thunderstorms. This storm formed in the late afternoon over Eastern China. The sunlit anvil tops of thunderstorms here are estimated to be in excess of 60,000 feet (18,300 m) where icy cirrus clouds form near the top of the troposphere. The distribution and impact of such high clouds are a significant challenge to scientists modeling the Earth's energy budget and climate.

The crew of the International Space Station is attempting to acquire such imagery over Florida this summer in support of a large, multi-agency experiment CRYSTAL - FACE (Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers - Florida Area Cirrus Experiment). This experiment is designed to collect measurements of clouds that will help improve climate models. Such photos have the potential to provide profound, synoptic visuals for use in describing and interpreting these measurements. More information on CRYSTAL - FACE as well as other images of the atmosphere are available at https://cloud1.arc.nasa.gov/crystalface/


Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 33k
Mission: STS111  
Roll - Frame: E - 5451
Geographical Name: NORTH AMERICA  
Features: PAN-THUNDERSTORMS, ANVILS  
Center Lat x Lon: N x E
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 100
 
Camera:: E4
 
Camera Tilt: HO   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 400  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction:   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: 20020617   YYYYMMDD
Time:   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: E  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth:   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude:   nautical miles
Sun Elevation:   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views:  
Water Views:  
Atmosphere Views: THUNDERSTORM  
Man Made Views:  
City Views:  

Photo is not associated with any sequences


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