PIA21014: Cape Agulhas, South Africa
 Target Name:  Earth
 Is a satellite of:  Sol (our sun)
 Mission:  Terra
 Spacecraft:  Terra
 Instrument:  ASTER
 Product Size:  2763 x 1493 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  JPL
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA21014.tif (11.42 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA21014.jpg (573.9 kB)

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Original Caption Released with Image:

The southernmost tip of Africa is marked by the Cape Agulhas lighthouse. The warm Atlantic Agulhas current meets the cold water Indian Ocean Benguela current, creating treacherous seas that have claimed many ships over the last 450 years. The image covers an area of 22.5 by 41.1 kilometers, was acquired September 27, 2006, and is located at 34.8 degrees south, 20 degrees east.

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/METI/AIST/Japan Space Systems, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team

Image Addition Date:
2016-10-13