Images
September 18, 2009 - Jet Contrails over Quebec
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When the hot, humid air from a jet engine mixes with colder, drier air in the surrounding environment, condensation trails, or "contrails", form in the sky. If the air through which the airplane is flying is already close to being saturated with water vapor, the condensation trail will last longer than it will if the air is dry. A contrail that lingers can spread out into a layer of cirrus (thin, wispy clouds). This image, captured by the MODIS on the Aqua satellite on September 9, 2009, shows a number of contrails over Quebec, Canada.
There are some notable land features in Quebec. One is the circular lake called the Manicouagan Reservoir, located in Quebec, Canada. The lake is circular because it is actually the remnant of one of the largest impact craters still preserved on the surface of the Earth. Manicouagan Reservoir is near the border of Quebec and Newfoundland, and waters from Manicouagan eventually flow into the St. Lawrence water body. The St Lawrence Bay is the large swatch of water near the bottom right of the image. The dark lake to the west of it is Lac St-Jean.
At the western point of the St. Lawrence is the city of Quebec, which appears as a gray splotch against the deeper green of the surrounding vegetation. Connected to the St. Lawrence Bay is the St. Lawrence Seaway, which passes the city of Montreal (another gray patch southwest of Quebec), and eventually connects to Lake Ontario.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 09/09/2009
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
When the hot, humid air from a jet engine mixes with colder, drier air in the surrounding environment, condensation trails, or "contrails", form in the sky. If the air through which the airplane is flying is already close to being saturated with water vapor, the condensation trail will last longer than it will if the air is dry. A contrail that lingers can spread out into a layer of cirrus (thin, wispy clouds). This image, captured by the MODIS on the Aqua satellite on September 9, 2009, shows a number of contrails over Quebec, Canada.
There are some notable land features in Quebec. One is the circular lake called the Manicouagan Reservoir, located in Quebec, Canada. The lake is circular because it is actually the remnant of one of the largest impact craters still preserved on the surface of the Earth. Manicouagan Reservoir is near the border of Quebec and Newfoundland, and waters from Manicouagan eventually flow into the St. Lawrence water body. The St Lawrence Bay is the large swatch of water near the bottom right of the image. The dark lake to the west of it is Lac St-Jean.
At the western point of the St. Lawrence is the city of Quebec, which appears as a gray splotch against the deeper green of the surrounding vegetation. Connected to the St. Lawrence Bay is the St. Lawrence Seaway, which passes the city of Montreal (another gray patch southwest of Quebec), and eventually connects to Lake Ontario.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 09/09/2009
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
