The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer(ASTER) is the zoom lens aboard NASA's Terra spacecraft. With itsVisible and Near Infrared (VNIR) subsystem, ASTER has the ability tocollect imagery at up to 15 meters per pixel spatial resolution, whileits Thermal Infrared (TIR) subsystem produces images at up to 90 metersper pixel.
These ASTER false-color images were acquired over Braidwood Nuclear power plant in Illinois, located about 75 km (47 miles)southwest of Chicago near where the Illinois and Kankakee Riversintersect. Braidwood Nuclear can be seen in the VNIR image (top) as the brightblue-whitepixels just above the large cooling pond. Like many powerplants, Braidwood Nuclear uses a cooling pond to discharge heated effluentwater. In this image, the red shades of the surrounding landscape showvegetated surfaces.
In the bottom image, a single ASTER Thermal Infrared band was colorcoded to represent heat emitted from the surface. The warmest areas arewhite; progressively cooler areas are colored red, orange, yellow,green, blue, and black for the coolest. Note the bright white plume ofhot water discharged from the power plant. The water growsprogressively cooler as it circulates around the pond.
References & Resources
Images courtesy NASA/GSFC/MITI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team.
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