Wednesday, July 4, 2012
On my first space flight I was surprised to find that the Sahara is not a uniform of sea of sand. A thin coat of oxidized rock called desert varnish produces amazingly varied colors amid the imposing mountains. Whirling winds sculpt rows of dunes at Kahala Tabelbala, Algeria.When the winds come predominantly from one direction, the sand forms into knife edged ridges, such as those above, at Erg Bouharet in Algeria.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
While the Shuttle is in orbit, the scientists of the Flight Science Branch prepare for the crew a daily fax updating areas of particular interest that will be visible from the Shuttle windows. The ground scientists also sometimes fax up hours old satellite images that pinpoint locations of such short lived phenomena as a typhoon is closing in on Madagascar or pollution over the Po River Valley of Italy.
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