NASA astronaut Don Pettit has captured one other exceptional shot, this one displaying the Betsiboka River estuary in Madagascar.
“Betsiboka river in Madagascar, remind me of the arteries in your retina,” Pettit stated in a publish accompanying the picture that he captured from the Worldwide House Station (ISS) some 250 miles above Earth.
Betsiboka river in Madagascar, remind me of the arteries in your retina. pic.twitter.com/ZM7KG0nFgx
— Don Pettit (@astro_Pettit) January 23, 2025
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The brilliant crimson coloration is as a result of excessive focus of iron-rich sediments carried by the waterway. The estuary is a glorious instance of fast coastal change as a result of intensive deforestation, in accordance with NASA’s Earth Observatory web site. A century of logging there has led to extreme erosion, with the intense crimson soils washing into rivers after rains. Different astronauts viewing the scene from the ISS have described it as Madagascar “bleeding into the ocean.”
Sediment accumulation has even clogged waterways, stopping ships from touring upriver as they as soon as did. Tropical storms additionally exacerbate erosion within the space, as seen in 2004 when Cyclone Gafilo triggered huge flooding and sediment move. The federal government has carried out applications to deal with deforestation, promote reforestation, and scale back soil erosion in a bid to mitigate these environmental challenges.
Pettit has a pointy eye for dramatic vistas like this, and he’s often fast to discover a digicam to document them. A equally putting waterway picture shared by Pettit final 12 months exhibits moonlight reflecting off of places within the Amazon basin in South America, a scene that he stated regarded like “flowing silver snakes.” One other picture, displaying mild reflecting off SpaceX Starlink satellites, reminded him of “cosmic fireflies.”
The American, who’s been to house 4 instances and at 69 years outdated is NASA’s oldest serving astronaut, not too long ago talked about his images work in an interview from the orbital laboratory.
And he likes to have enjoyable, too, evidenced by a current video that he shared displaying how microgravity circumstances can help in altering digicam lenses.
