SOUTH GEORGIA -- 29 Sep 2012 -- Unusually clear skies allowed the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer

SOUTH GEORGIA -- 29 Sep 2012 -- Unusually clear skies allowed the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite an unobstructed view of a snow-and-ice covered South Georgia Island on September 29, 2012. As MODIS passed overhead, two big icebergs and a number of smaller ice chunks floated around the island. Off the island’s northwestern tip was Iceberg C-19C, measuring 35 by 28 kilometers (19 by 15 nautical miles), according to the U.S. National Ice Center. The iceberg is a remnant of the larger Iceberg C-19, which calved off Antarctica’s Ross Ice Shelf in May 2002. To the southeast is Iceberg B-15F—measuring 35 by 7 kilometers (19 by 4 nautical miles)—a remnant of Iceberg B-15, which calved off the Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000. South Georgia Island itself is just 170 kilometers (105 miles) from northwest to southeast -- Picture by Lightroom Photos/NASA