Pictures released by NASA usually capture breathtaking views of the cosmos as galaxies are born and celestial bodies give up their long-held secrets. But an image released this week hits a little closer to home and shows the sheer devastation of wildfires that burned across Northern California this month.
The image comes courtesy of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument onboard NASA's Terra satellite, a joint effort between NASA and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.
The ASTER image of northern California covers 38 miles by 39 miles and is a compilation of 14 spectral bands. The bands range from visible to thermal infrared wavelength, providing significantly more information about the Earth's surface as compared to a normal photograph.
The image, taken on October 21, 2017, is artificially colored with vegetation in red and the wildfire-charred land in dark gray. The image provides an impressive resolution of 50 to 300 feet and was calibrated by the joint United States/Japan team.
The fires in the region have been almost completely contained, but not before dealing the state one of the worst natural disasters in its history.
California's wine country wildfires are mostly contained, however, we continue to see the human and economic impact. At least 42 people lost their lives as a result of the fires and 8,400 structures were destroyed, many of which were people's homes. The fire destroyed 245,000-acres of northern California, with a total economic loss estimated at $4.6 billion or higher.
The image released on Tuesday was just the latest in a series that NASA has published since the fires began. An earlier image from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument on the Suomi NPP satellite, for example, captured stunning views of multiple fires and smoke.