June 1, 2020 - Clear Skies over Europe

Clear Skies over Europe

A beautiful clear-sky image encompassing much of Western Europe greeted NASA’s Aqua satellite as it passed overhead in late May 2020. Other than the sunny tip of the Iberian Peninsula, cloudy days are frequent over this region. On May 28, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board Aqua acquired this true-color image, clear skies extended well into northern Africa.

Starting north (at the small cloud) and moving clockwise, the countries visible in this image are: Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, France, the islands of Corsica and Sardinia in Italy, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and the United Kingdom. In Africa, the countries of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia can also be seen.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 5/28/2020
Resolutions: 1km (2 MB), 500m (4.4 MB), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC