Stunning ISS View of Volcanos on Earth

By Nancy Atkinson - December 8, 2010 at 10:21 AM UTC | uncategorized

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What a view! This photograph taken by one of the astronauts on the International Space Station shows several snow-covered volcanoes on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. It also illustrates one of the unique attributes of the ISS —the ability to view landscapes at an angle, rather than the straight-down view typical of many satellite-based sensors. This oblique view, together with shadows cast by the volcanoes and mountains, provides a unique view -- as well as a different perspective about the topography of the region.

See more about this image at NASA's Earth Observatory website.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com