Earth in True Color
Explanation:
Here are the true colors of
planet Earth.
Blue oceans dominate our world, while areas of
green forest, brown
mountains, tan
desert,
and white ice are also prominent.
Oceans appear blue not only because
water itself is blue but also because
seawater frequently scatters light from a
blue sky.
Forests appear
green because they contain
chlorophyll, a pigment that preferentially absorbs red light.
The
above image is a composite generated predominantly with data from
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS), an instrument mounted on the
Terra satellite that has orbited
Earth
since 1999 December.
Sub-areas were imaged only when experiencing
cloud-free daylight when it occurred from June
through September 2001.
The
Earth looks
much different at night.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
