Bathed in sunlight reflecting on the water, the Massachusetts coast and islands are the focus of this astronaut photograph.
Published Aug 1, 2011
Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, the Finger Lakes of New York, and numerous other bodies of water are brilliantly lit by sunglint in this astronaut photograph.
Published Jul 22, 2012
Marsh Island, located along the southwestern coastline of Louisiana, is a remnant of an abandoned lobe of the Mississippi River Delta formed approximately 5,000–7,500 years ago. It is composed primarily of organic-rich muds and brackish marsh vegetation, but some peat (layers of vegetation that have partially decomposed while submerged in water) is also present.
Published Dec 3, 2007
In addition to posing scientific challenges and opportunities, sunglint makes for some spectacular satellite images.
Published Sep 11, 2014
It might look like something mysterious is happening in the waters off of Oman, but this dark, sinuous shape has a completely natural explanation.
Published Apr 30, 2017
The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area is the largest in Texas, with an approximate population of 6 million people in 2005.
Published Jul 25, 2005
An extreme sideways viewing angle and the mirror-like reflection of sunlight off water creates a dramatic astronaut photo of clouds over Italy’s Calabrian Peninsula.
Published Dec 21, 2009
These two images of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, taken from different directions, give a sense of the astronaut flight experience.
Published Jul 21, 2019
The play of sunlight on water gives definition to the jagged coastlines of Sardinia and Corsica.
Published Jun 14, 2020
This detailed astronaut photograph features surface currents illuminated by mirror-like reflections of sunlight off the waters around the Malée Atoll in the Maldive Islands.
Published Mar 1, 2010
The combination of sunlight, islands, and wind painted this scene on the surface of the Caribbean Sea.
Published Apr 19, 2014
Winds ruffling the water surface around the Hawaiian Islands create varying patterns, leaving some areas calmer than others. On the leeward sides of the islands, calmer waters show up as brighter silver coloration. Conversely, most vegetation grows on the windward sides.
Published Jun 3, 2003
A photograph of an uninhabited atoll in the Indian Ocean has an almost surreal quality due to varying degrees of sunglint.
Published Apr 18, 2011
Astronauts learn to sense the way sunlight brings out different features in the water and around coastal cities.
Published Apr 27, 2015
Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery used the sunglint off the surface of the Mediterranean Sea to reveal biogenic films on the ocean surface (“Biogenic film” refers to a thin layer of biologically-produced film resting on the surface.). The films dampen surface capillary waves, creating brighter and darker reflections, which, in turn, trace the complex surface water movements along the coast. The sunglint also highlights coastal features (jetties, submerged costal areas) near the Port of Suez.
Published Sep 23, 2001
