United kingdom Daily news: America's wildfires can be seen from space (if you don't believe us, ask the International Space Station crew)

Jumat, 29 Juni 2012

America's wildfires can be seen from space (if you don't believe us, ask the International Space Station crew)

America's wildfires can be seen from space (if you don't believe us, ask the International Space Station crew)

By Eddie Wrenn

PUBLISHED: 11:25 EST, 29 June 2012 | UPDATED: 11:46 EST, 29 June 2012

Wildfires are raging across America, and their smoke plumes can be seen from space.

If you don't believe it, ask the astronauts on the International Space Station, who were able to capture these images from 240 miles above the surface of our planet.

The crew, taking part on Expedition 31 on the ISS, recorded a series of images of the current wild fires in the southwestern United States.

These particular fires, of unknown cause, are burning at the south end of the Wyoming Range in southwestern Wyoming, and have affected 17,000 acres.

The fires have produced two major smoke plumes that dominate the first image.

Fires in Wyoming were seen by the ISS's Expedition 31 crewmembers on Wednesday, flying 240 miles above Earth

To get a sense of scale, the fires are occurring 120 miles due south of Yellowstone Lake which appears as an irregular blue shape on the upper right of this top image, and Utah's Great Salt Lake on the left is about 120 miles away.

Winds transport the smoke in a northeasterly direction: the plumes can be seen to cross the Wind River Range (center), blowing directly toward the Big Horn Mountains.

For the fish-eye image, the fires give rise to thick smoke plumes on the southernmost extremity of the Wyoming Range, which occupies the center of the image.

Slopes of the central Salt River Range appear at left. Three helicopters and more than 100 personnel are fighting the fire, which is being managed by the Bridger--Teton National Forest.