Cape Horn is the southernmost point of the Tierra Del Fuego archipelago of Southern Chile, and marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet. For decades after its 1616 discovery, it was a milestone for the clipper route by which sailing ships carried trade around the world (Wikipedia). Unfortunately, it was also a graveyard for sailing ships due to strong winds, large waves, strong currents, and icebergs. The 1914 opening of the Panama Canal greatly reduced the need for ships to traverse this dangerous passage. The image was acquired December 20, 2009, covers an area of 28.3 by 36.0 kilometers, and is located at 56 degrees south, 67.3 degrees west.

With its 14 spectral bands from the visible to the thermal infrared wavelength region and its high spatial resolution of about 50 to 300 feet (15 to 90 meters), 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 in Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

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