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Fires in the Great Plains

Instruments:

In Kansas, dozens of active fires were burning when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite passed overhead on April 12, 2006. The fires are marked in red in the scene. The tan-and green-speckled landscape is darkened by burn scars as well. Many of these fires may be intentional fires set by people to clear ranch or farmland of brush for grazing, planting, or to reduce fire danger later in the season.

The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides images of this part of the United States at additional resolutions.

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