PIA14554: Hue, Vietnam
 Target Name:  Earth
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Terra
 Spacecraft:  Terra
 Instrument:  ASTER
 Product Size:  604 x 571 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA14554.tif (1.036 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA14554.jpg (82.46 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

Established as the capital of unified Viet Nam in 1802, Hue was not only the political but the cultural and religious center under the Nguyen dynasty. The Perfume River flows through the Capital City, the Imperial City, the Forbidden Purple City and the inner city. Hue was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. The image was acquired March 17, 2008, covers an area of 8.6 by 9 km, and is located at 16.5 degrees north latitude, 107.6 degrees east longitude.

With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region and its high spatial resolution of 15 to 90 meters (about 50 to 300 feet), ASTER images Earth to map and monitor the changing surface of our planet. ASTER is one of five Earth-observing instruments launched Dec. 18, 1999, on Terra. The instrument was built by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. A joint U.S./Japan science team is responsible for validation and calibration of the instrument and data products.

The broad spectral coverage and high spectral resolution of ASTER provides scientists in numerous disciplines with critical information for surface mapping and monitoring of dynamic conditions and temporal change. Example applications are: monitoring glacial advances and retreats; monitoring potentially active volcanoes; identifying crop stress; determining cloud morphology and physical properties; wetlands evaluation; thermal pollution monitoring; coral reef degradation; surface temperature mapping of soils and geology; and measuring surface heat balance.

The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C.

More information about ASTER is available at http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/.

Image Credit:
NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

Image Addition Date:
2011-09-27