Over the course of the day on December 16, 2002, the number of fires (indicated with red dots) burning across the central African Sahel and savannas more than tripled, increasing from just over 1,000 at the time of the Terra MODIS overpass to close to 4,000 by the time Aqua MODIS passed over in the afternoon. The ability to monitor the diurnal pattern of fire is one of the many benefits of having two iterations of a sensor flying aboard "sister" satellites.
Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
