Satellite: Aqua Date Acquired: 10/26/2009 Resolutions: 1km (135.3 KB) 500m (453.2 KB) 250m (1.1 MB) Bands Used: 1,4,3 Credit: Jeff Schmaltz MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC View this image interactively

A dust storm blew across Australia’s Northern Territory and Queensland on October 26, 2009, as the MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite passed overhead. This true-color image shows the dust plume traveling eastward across the border between the Australian states. In Northern Territory, the dust passes south of Newcastle Waters. In Queensland, the plume skirts a cluster of fires—roughly marked by red outlines—that send their smoke plumes northward.

Sandy deserts stretch across the central region of Australia’s of Northern Territory, and the dust plume that arose in late October likely originated from such an area in the western part of Northern Territory.

Curator: Brandon Maccherone
NASA Official: Shannell Cardwell