Earth Matters

June Puzzler

June 30th, 2020 by Kathryn Hansen



Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The June 2020 puzzler is above. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what we are looking at, where it is, and why it is interesting.

How to answer. You can use a few words or several paragraphs. You might simply tell us the location, or you can dig deeper and explain what satellite and instrument produced the image, what spectral bands were used to create it, or what is compelling about some obscure feature. If you think something is interesting or noteworthy, tell us about it.

The prize. We cannot offer prize money or a trip to Mars, but we can promise you credit and glory. Well, maybe just credit. Roughly one week after a puzzler image appears on this blog, we will post an annotated and captioned version as our Image of the Day. After we post the answer, we will acknowledge the first person to correctly identify the image at the bottom of this blog post. We also may recognize readers who offer the most interesting tidbits of information about the geological, meteorological, or human processes that have shaped the landscape. Please include your preferred name or alias with your comment. If you work for or attend an institution that you would like to recognize, please mention that as well.

Recent winners. If you’ve won the puzzler in the past few months, or if you work in geospatial imaging, please hold your answer for at least a day to give less experienced readers a chance.

Releasing Comments. Savvy readers have solved some puzzlers after a few minutes. To give more people a chance, we may wait 24 to 48 hours before posting comments. Good luck!


Acertijo de Junio

Cada mes en la sección Earth Matters, ofrecemos una imagen de satélite intrigante. La imagen superior es el acertijo de junio 2020. Tu desafío es usar la sección de comentarios para decirnos qué miramos, dónde está, y por qué es interesante.

Cómo participar. Responde usando unas pocas palabras o varios párrafos. Puedes solo darnos la ubicación, o puedes profundizar y explicar qué satélite e instrumento produjeron la imagen, qué bandas espectrales se emplearon para crearla, o qué resulta atractivo en algún elemento poco definido. Si piensas que algo es interesante o digno de mención, dínoslo.

El premio. No podemos ofrecerte recompensa monetaria o un viaje a Marte, pero podemos prometerte reconocimiento y fama. En verdad, solo reconocimiento. Aproximadamente una semana después de publicar la imagen acertijo en este blog, publicaremos una versión comentada y subtitulada como nuestra imagen del día. Tras publicar la respuesta, daremos crédito a la primera persona que identificó correctamente la imagen en la parte inferior de la publicación. También podemos dar crédito a los participantes que ofrecieron las piezas de información más interesantes sobre los procesos geológicos, meteorológicos, o humanos que dieron forma al paisaje. Por favor incluye tu nombre o alias con tu comentario. Si trabajas o asistes a una institución que quieras reconocer, por favor menciónala también.

Ganadores recientes. Si has ganado uno de los acertijos de los últimos meses, o si trabajas con imágenes geoespaciales, por favor contén tu respuesta por al menos un día para dar oportunidad a aquellos lectores menos experimentados.

Publicación de comentarios.Los lectores expertos han resuelto algunos de los acertijos en solo minutos. Para dar oportunidad de resolverlo a la mayor cantidad de lectores, la publicación de comentarios puede retardarse de 24 a 48 horas. ¡Buena suerte!

Esta entrada fue originalmente publicada el martes, 30 de junio de 2020 a las 3:00 pm y está archivada bajo la sección EO Satellite Puzzler. Puedes hacer seguimiento a las respuestas de este acertijo a través de la fuente RSS 2.0. Puedes saltar hasta el final y dejar una respuesta. Actualmente no está permitido hacer ping.

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15 Responses to “June Puzzler”

  1. Tim Hyatt says:

    The remains of the previous landbridge between Sri Lanka and the Indian mainland….

    there’s some interesting speculation that the fabled bridge of Ram Setu may have actually existed….

  2. Maria Jenkins says:

    The English Channel. Revent algae that is glowing. I think shown this week.

  3. Gerald Bowes says:

    Dito on algae in Atlantic

  4. Steven Pemberton says:

    It’s the Great Barrier Reef.

  5. Steven Pemberton says:

    Great Barrier Reef

  6. Mohammad Ossama says:

    Is it bioluminescent

  7. Helouise says:

    GBBE coral reef system, Gulf of Guacanayabo, Cuba 🙂

  8. ARUN BAMNE says:

    This is corals reefs under the water, it might be looks liye wonder from the sky, thanks NASA for this image,

  9. udayavani says:

    nice article

  10. John Mitrakas says:

    Cuba, First looks that is it the sea area in front of Manzanillo, but no. Must be the San Antonio reef at the “Golfo de Guanahacabibes”, in the west side of Cuba. Thank you very much for the aerial images.

  11. John Mitrakas says:

    Second thought. If its Cuba, its the reef in the golf in front of Manzanillo.

  12. Allen Coral Atlas team says:

    We think it might be the beautiful reticulated reefs of the Gran Banco de Buena Esperanza in Cuba’s Gulf of Guacanayabo on the southern coast! We just finished mapping the coral reefs across Cuba as part of a global mapping project and it looked suspiciously familiar… the whitish swirls (either whitings typical of the Bahamas or indicate a shallow bay) and the pale blue ocean (shallow) were the giveaway, plus the beautiful patterns formed by the reefs – a bit like leaf veins (“reticulated” reefs) – are quite unusual too, and they can be tricky to map! Such a beautiful image: coral reefs are amazing!

  13. Parmit says:

    About one-quarter of the planet’s marine species depend on the food and shelter provided by tropical coral reefs—habitat that spans just one percent of the ocean floor.
    The image depicts Gran Banco de Buena Esperanza spans 25 by 40 kilometres of the central part of the bay. The reef’s pattern is “reticulate”—that is, the corals have grown into a maze-like network of ridges with interspersed with ponds and channels.
    Notice how the coral reef appears light green in contrast with the gulf’s darker blue-green water. The reefs actually extend another 50 meters below modern-day seafloor. Over thousands of years, sediments have accumulated and left two-thirds of the structure buried in mud, sand, and clay.