Images
February 10, 2023 - Clear Skies over Europe
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Since the first morning of 2023, satellite images of Europe have shown a pretty standard scene – a layer of cloud hovering over most of the region. In fact, Europe spends a lot of days under cloud cover, particularly in winter, when the jet stream often steers storm system directly toward western Europe.
On February 8, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of western Europe showing sunny skies sullied only by the smallest bit of cloud. This was only the second day since January 1 that Aqua MODIS saw the landscape of this region. February 7 was the first clear day of the year, and by February 9, widespread cloud had returned.
This image spans more than 1,100 clear-sky miles (1,800 km), from the Bay of Biscay (southwest) to the Baltic Sea. Snow sits atop almost all of the highest elevations, including France’s Central Massif, the wide arc of the Alps (located in the southeast), to Germany’s Harz Mountains. Snow is scarce, however, in the lowlands even in Denmark and Sweden, located in the far northeast of the image.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 2/8/2023
Resolutions:
1km (2.5 MB), 500m (6.2 MB), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Since the first morning of 2023, satellite images of Europe have shown a pretty standard scene – a layer of cloud hovering over most of the region. In fact, Europe spends a lot of days under cloud cover, particularly in winter, when the jet stream often steers storm system directly toward western Europe.
On February 8, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of western Europe showing sunny skies sullied only by the smallest bit of cloud. This was only the second day since January 1 that Aqua MODIS saw the landscape of this region. February 7 was the first clear day of the year, and by February 9, widespread cloud had returned.
This image spans more than 1,100 clear-sky miles (1,800 km), from the Bay of Biscay (southwest) to the Baltic Sea. Snow sits atop almost all of the highest elevations, including France’s Central Massif, the wide arc of the Alps (located in the southeast), to Germany’s Harz Mountains. Snow is scarce, however, in the lowlands even in Denmark and Sweden, located in the far northeast of the image.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 2/8/2023
Resolutions:
1km (2.5 MB), 500m (6.2 MB), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
