Cool Science Image

We are in no danger of getting altitude sickness here in the Midwest. (Newcomers to the area often get topography withdrawal.) Thankfully, NASA has undertaken a new radar mapping project, called the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), which will provide the most accurate maps of the earth's features ever made. SRTM is so accurate that it can even find hills, bumps actually, in places like Illinois.

During the 11-21 February 2000 shuttle mission, scientists used a technique called "interferometry" to collect data for over 80% of the Earth's land mass. Radar instruments collected images, like the one shown here, which can be used to create highly accurate topographic maps.

This particular image shows the islands of Lanai and western Maui. It combines two kinds of data from the SRTM mission. Image brightness corresponds to the strength of the radar image reflected from the ground, while colors show the area's topography. According to NASA, "each cycle of colors (from pink through blue back to pink) represents an equal amount of elevation difference (400 meters or 1300 feet) similar to contour lines on a standard topographic map." The map shown here contains about 5900 feet of relief.

Image courtesy of NASA.


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			Making Mole Hills out of Flatlands We are in no danger of getting altitude sickness here in the Midwest. (Newcomers to the area often get topography withdrawal.) Thankfully, NASA has undertaken a new radar mapping project, called the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), which will provide the most accurate maps of the earth's features ever made. SRTM is so accurate that it can even find hills, bumps actually, in places like Illinois. During the 11-21 February 2000 shuttle mission, scientists used a technique called "interferometry" to collect data for over 80% of the Earth's land mass. Radar instruments collected images, like the one shown here, which can be used to create highly accurate topographic maps. This particular image shows the islands of Lanai and western Maui. It combines two kinds of data from the SRTM mission. Image brightness corresponds to the strength of the radar image reflected from the ground, while colors show the area's topography. According to NASA, "each cycle of colors (from pink through blue back to pink) represents an equal amount of elevation difference (400 meters or 1300 feet) similar to contour lines on a standard topographic map." The map shown here contains about 5900 feet of relief. Image courtesy of NASA.