EO’s Satellite Puzzler: June 2012

Every month or so, NASA Earth Observatory will offer up a puzzling satellite image here on Earth Matters. The first one is above. Your challenge is to use the comments section below to tell us what part of the world we’re looking at, when the image was acquired, and what’s happening in the scene.

How to answer. Your answer can be a few words or several paragraphs.  (Just try to keep it shorter than 300-400 words).  You might simply tell us what part of the world an image shows. Or you can dig deeper and tell us what satellite and instrument produced the image, what bands were used to create the image, and what those tiny specks of tan are in the corner. If you think something is interesting or noteworthy about an image, tell us all about it.

The prize. We can’t offer prize money for being the first to respond or for digging up the most interesting kernels of information. But, we can promise you credit and glory (well, maybe just credit). Roughly one week after a “mystery image” appears on the blog, we will post an annotated and captioned version as our Image of the Day.  In the credits, we’ll acknowledge the person who was first to correctly ID an image. We’ll also recognize people who offer the most interesting tidbits of information. Please include your preferred name or alias with your comment. If you work for an institution that you want us to recognize, please mention that as well.

A brush with fame. We’re not exactly TMZ.com, but our readership isn’t small either. Winners of the puzzler will contribute—and be recognized for doing so—to an article that we’ll share with our more than 100,000 subscribers, Facebook friends, and Twitter followers.  And that’s just the bare minimum. The caption you help us write might just be the next one that goes viral.

You can read more about the origins of the satellite puzzler here. Good luck!