September 17, 2009 - Central Europe

Central Europe

The darker hues of early fall color this image of north central Europe captured by the MODIS on the Aqua satellite on September 1, 2009. Dominating the top of the image are the black waters of the Baltic Sea. Sweden and Denmark are in the top left corner. South of Denmark is Germany. Moving to the east is Poland, and Kaliningrad (part of Russia). Continuing to the north is Lithuania, and part of Latvia.

Between Germany and Poland is the Czech Republic. Slovakia is south of Poland. Moving still further south is Austria (below the Czech Republic on the map). In the lower left corner of the image is Switzerland, Northern Italy and the snow-covered Alps. The northern tip of the Adriatic Sea is at the bottom of the image. East of the Adriatic is Slovenia and Crotia. North of Croatia and south of Slovakia is Hungary. The large lake in this region is Lake Balaton in Hungary. It's the largest lake in Central Europe.

Black lines show the country borders (though they blend with the landscape here). The few red dots are locations of active fires.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 09/01/2009
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC