October 8, 2016
Cosmos Editorial
NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens, using MODIS data from the Land Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE)
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this false-colour image showing volcanic activity in the South Sandwich Islands on 29 September.
Due to their remote location, these volcanoes are some of the least studied in the world, though satellites often catch them erupting.
Using portions of the electromagnetic spectrum that are typically invisible to the naked eye, such as infrared, enables satellites to distinguish ice from ash and clouds, or even reveal hot spots underneath a smoky wildfire.
