The Lesser Sunda Islands

Credit: Jeff Schmaltz; MODIS team; NASA, Posted on: Tuesday, 15 July 2008, 06:02 CDT Download full size image

The MODIS on the Terra satellite captured this image of the Lesser Sunda Islands on July 8, 2008. These islands form the southern border of Indonesia with Australia and stretch for 1,200 kilometers from the western island of Lombok on the left to the eastern tip of Timor, the largest island in the image. The Islands are surrounded by the waters of the Indian Ocean as well as the Flores, Banda, Sawu, and Timor Seas.

In a few places, bright turquoise-blue spots on the water mark tiny islands surrounded by shallow waters: the Kepulauan Taka´Bonerate islands in the upper center of the image, the Kepulauan Tukangbesi islands in the upper right, and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands (Australian territories) in the lower center.

There are a few active fires, particularly on Sumba Island - each fire is marked with a red dot. Because it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere the vegetation is less green and more brown in color, when compared to an image taken during the summer months.

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