Images
February 21, 2019 - Snow in Mountains of Greece, New Macedonia, and Albania
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On February 19, 2019, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite flew over the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula and acquired a true-color image of Albania, Greece, and New Macedonia.
The southern Balkan Peninsula is made up of a series of rugged mountains that run into the sea, extending into the scattered islands of the Mediterranean Sea (west of the Peninsula) and, in the east, the Aegean Sea. Greece sites in the southernmost section of the Balkan Peninsula, with Albania along the Mediterranean coast. New Macedonia lies north and inland of Greece.
The texture of the mountains and valleys make the land appear marbled in tans and greens. As winter begins to move towards spring, snow tops the highest elevations while warmer temperatures set the stage for increasing vegetation. Red hot spots mark areas where the thermal bands on the MODIS instrument have detected temperatures hotter than expected. When accompanied by smoke, such hot spots mark actively burning fire. The largest cluster sits to the west of Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece and near the coast of the Aegean Sea. While no wildfires are currently reported in popular media, Greece has suffered from large, damaging fires in recent summers.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 2/18/2019
Resolutions:
1km (130.2 KB), 500m (449.6 KB), 250m (1.4 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
On February 19, 2019, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite flew over the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula and acquired a true-color image of Albania, Greece, and New Macedonia.
The southern Balkan Peninsula is made up of a series of rugged mountains that run into the sea, extending into the scattered islands of the Mediterranean Sea (west of the Peninsula) and, in the east, the Aegean Sea. Greece sites in the southernmost section of the Balkan Peninsula, with Albania along the Mediterranean coast. New Macedonia lies north and inland of Greece.
The texture of the mountains and valleys make the land appear marbled in tans and greens. As winter begins to move towards spring, snow tops the highest elevations while warmer temperatures set the stage for increasing vegetation. Red hot spots mark areas where the thermal bands on the MODIS instrument have detected temperatures hotter than expected. When accompanied by smoke, such hot spots mark actively burning fire. The largest cluster sits to the west of Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece and near the coast of the Aegean Sea. While no wildfires are currently reported in popular media, Greece has suffered from large, damaging fires in recent summers.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 2/18/2019
Resolutions:
1km (130.2 KB), 500m (449.6 KB), 250m (1.4 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
