The expanse of the Ross Ice Shelf,Antarctica,photographed by the crew of Shuttle Discovery during Mission STS-48 of 12-18 September 1991. The horizontal streaks in the lower half of the image are thin lines of low-level cloud. The swirl of cloud to the left is associated with an Antarctic cyclone. The very dark lines in the ice cover show fractures in the sheet,caused by the influence of wind and tidal drift. The slightly darker continental ice cover is seen just below the Earth's limb. The primary task of STS-48 was to deploy the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS),designed to study the chemistry and dynamics of the Earth's outer atmosphere | |
Licence : | Droits gérés |
Crédit: | Science Photo Library / NASA |
Taille de l’image : | 4888 px × 3981 px |
Model Release : | Non requis |
Property Release : | Non requis |
Restrictions : | - |