MSNBC News March 27, 2003
Alan Boyle: Cosmic Log
Watching the war from space: Journalists are
providing unprecedented coverage of the war in Iraq - including
Baghdad Webcams, battlefront
blogs, front-line videophones and even
the "Bloommobile." There are also plenty of swooping
views of downtown Baghdad, based on archived satellite imagery.
But you may have missed the opportunity to see the big picture from
above.
For a wide-angle view of the
region, including glimpses of the sandstorms and oil fires that have
played such a big part in the war coverage, you can consult weather
satellite imagery from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Another roundup of environmental satellite imagery is available via
"Near Real-time Satellite Images of Iraq," a Web
site maintained by Kinetic Analysis Corp.
To review the closer-in aerial views displayed by the U.S.-led
military coalition during its briefings - or, for that matter, other
visual materials released by the Pentagon - you can check out the
archive at Defense Link. You can also consult a
better-organized archive of military imagery at GlobalSecurity.org.
Space Imaging, a Colorado-based company, has provided many of
the views from space you see in the news - and most of those
pictures have been snapped by the commercial Ikonos satellite,
orbiting about 423 miles (680 kilometers) above Earth's surface.
Since the war is only a week old, Ikonos is just starting to provide
imagery taken during the hostilities.
The first picture, made available Wednesday, shows a
"before-and-after" view of an Iraqi facility in the southern city of
Basra that was targeted by coalition bombs. The 1.4-megabyte
image has been provided to news media courtesy of Space Imaging
Eurasia. Red arrows highlight the damage.
This image will likely be added to Space Imaging's extensive
Image Gallery, company spokesman Gary Napier
said.
DigitalGlobe, another satellite
imagery company, already has set up a gallery of Baghdad imagery, including dramatic views of
burning oil fires and bomb damage.
We
haven't seen any battlefield views from the international space
station yet, but if the crew happens to take any pictures, you'll
probably find them via NASA's "Earth Sciences and
Image Analysis" Web page. This week Science@NASA presents a
visual-audio report about astrophotography on the space station, and you can
also check out our archive of space station chats for an astronaut's
perspective on Sept. 11 and its continuing aftermath.
Copyright © 2003, MSNBC News
