Visible Imaging System (VIS)
Sample Images

Figure 1 Dayside Aurora
Figure 1a Without coastlines
Figure 2 Substorm Onset
Figure 3 Southern Hemisphere Aurora
Figure 4 Auroral Oval bulge
NASA Press Release
Figure 5 Aurora on Face of the Earth
Figure 6 Aurora on Face of the Earth
Figure 7 Aurora on Face of the Earth
Figure 8 Aurora on Face of the Earth
Figure 9 Aurora Time Sequence
Figure 10 Aurora Time Sequence
Figures 11a & 11b First Visible Image

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Figure 1

This picture shows a spectacular view of Earth as seen from the Polar spacecraft from intermediate altitudes. The altitude of the spacecraft is 25,740 km and the geographic latitude and longitude of its position are 57.7° and 201.4°, respectively. The picture was taken at 00:37 UT on March 25, 1996. Earth's northern auroral oval is seen as a "crown" at the top of the image. The extended region of light in the center and bottom of the image is the glow from the sun's illumination of Earth's upper atmosphere. The filter for this image passes ultraviolet emissions that are not directly visible to the human eye. The intensities of this light from atomic oxygen in Earth's atmosphere at altitudes in the range of about 100 to 500 km are color-coded in the image with dark red as lowest intensities and whitish yellow as the brightest intensities. A coastline has been superposed on the image. Note that the aurora is positioned just north of the Great Lakes. Advances in technology for the construction of these cameras allow images of the auroral oval to be acquired for the sunlit atmosphere with unprecedented clarity, as amply demonstrated by this picture of a complete auroral oval that extends into the sunlit atmosphere. The image was taken with the Earth Camera that is one of three cameras in the Visible Imaging System which was designed and constructed at The University of Iowa.

The Principal Investigator is Dr. L. A. Frank and the Instrument Scientist and Manager is Dr. John. B. Sigwarth.

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Figure 1a

Same as Figure 1, but without the geographic coast lines superposed.

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Figure 2

The dramatic beginning or "onset" of an auroral substorm is displayed in this image of Earth acquired from high above the Northern Hemisphere of Earth. the northern auroral oval is located in the center of the image while the bright dayside of Earth is located below it. The bulge of bright intensities corresponding to the onset of the auroral display occurs in the auroral oval near local midnight over northern Norway and Sweden. A coastline map has been superposed on the image. This image has bee acquired by the Earth Camera that is one of the three cameras in the Visible Imaging System on board the Polar spacecraft. The spacecraft has passed apogee and has begun its descent toward perigee. The spacecraft is positioned at an altitude of 48,280 km and the geographic latitude and longitude of its position are 57.7° and 62.1°, respectively. The image was acquired at 20:59 UT on April 3, 1996. The filter for this image passes ultraviolet emissions that are not directly visible to the human eye. The intensities of this light from atomic oxygen in Earth's atmosphere at altitudes in the range of about 100 to 500 km are color-coded in the image with dark red as lowest intensities and whitish yellow as the brightest intensities. The Visible Imaging System was designed and constructed at The University of Iowa.

The Principal Investigator is Dr. L. A. Frank and the Instrument Scientist and Manager is Dr. John. B. Sigwarth.

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Figure 3

A closeup view of part of the sourhern aurora oval is seen in the upper right quadrant of this image that was acquired with the Earth Camera on the Visible Imaging System on board the Polar spacecraft. The altitude of the spacecraft is 8,800 km as it approaches perigee and the geographic latitude and longitude of its position are -43.9° and 158.6°, respectively. The coastal outlines of the island of Tasmania and the southeast coast of the continent of Australia, as well as the islands of New Zealand, have been superposed in yellow on the image. This image was taken at 15:15 UT on March 25, 1996. The Earth Camera is one of the three cameras of the Visible Imaging System that was designed and constructed a The University of Iowa. The filter for this image passes ultraviolet emissions that are not directly visible to the human eye. The intensities of this light from atomic oxygen in Earth's atmosphere at altitudes in the range of about 100 to 500 km are color-coded in the image with dark red as lowest intensities and whitish yellow as the brightest intensities.

The Principal Investigator is Dr. L. A. Frank and the Instrument Scientist and Manager is Dr. John. B. Sigwarth.

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Figure 4

A sudden, intense bulge in the auroral oval signals the start of an auroral substorm over North America. The bulge can be seen easily over northern United States and southern Canada. A map of the coastal outlines has been superposed on the image. This image has been acquired by the Earth Camera that is one of the three cameras in the Visible Imaging System (VIS) on board the Polar spacecraft. In this mode, an image of Earth can be acquired every 53 seconds with the VIS Earth Camera. This image was taken at 07:13 UT on May 15, 1996. At the time of this image, the Polar spacecraft is located at 82.1° latitude, 74.2° longitude, and is at an altitude of 41,900 km as it approaches apogee. The filter for this image passes ultraviolet emissions that are not directly visible to the human eye. The intensities of this light from atomic oxygen in Earth's atmosphere at altitudes in the range of about 100 to 500 km are color-coded in the image with dark red as lowest intensities and whitish yellow as the brightest intensities. The Visible Imaging System was designed and constructed at The University of Iowa.

The Principal Investigator is Dr. L. A. Frank and the Instrument Scientist and Manager is Dr. John. B. Sigwarth.

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Figure 5

A global view of Earth as it would be seen from the Polar Visible Imaging System (VIS). This is an image of Earth's Northern Auroral Oval in the ultraviolet spectrum superposed on an image of Earth's surface for 25 March 1996 (96/085) at 00:37:04 UT.

The Principal Investigator is Dr. L. A. Frank and the Instrument Scientist and Manager is Dr. John. B. Sigwarth.

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Figure 6

The Principal Investigator is Dr. L. A. Frank and the Instrument Scientist and Manager is Dr. John. B. Sigwarth.

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Figure 7

The Principal Investigator is Dr. L. A. Frank and the Instrument Scientist and Manager is Dr. John. B. Sigwarth.

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Figure 8

The Principal Investigator is Dr. L. A. Frank and the Instrument Scientist and Manager is Dr. John. B. Sigwarth.

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Figure 9

The Principal Investigator is Dr. L. A. Frank and the Instrument Scientist and Manager is Dr. John. B. Sigwarth.

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Figure 10

The Principal Investigator is Dr. L. A. Frank and the Instrument Scientist and Manager is Dr. John. B. Sigwarth.

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Figures 11a & 11b

The image on the left is one of the first images of the nighttime sector of the visible northern auroral oval obtained with the Low Resolution Sensor of the Visible Imaging System (VIS). This image was acquired with the filter that has peak tranmission at the atomic oxygen emission line wavelength of 557.7 nm and is displayed in a false color presentation with dark red for low intensities through brilliant yellow for high intensities. In this image acquired at 23:40:56 UT on 26 November, 1996, the bright glow of the discrete auroral oval can be seen sweeping across the image from the left side of the field-of-view to the top. The nighttime limb of the earth can be seen at the bottom of the image. Clouds and snow cover on the surface of the Earth illuminated by the waning full moon can be seen as low intensity regions at lower latitudes in the image.

For comparison, the image on the right is the global view of Earth obtained at ultraviolet wavelengths with the VIS Earth Camera. This image was obtained at 23:42:21 UT on 26 November, 1996 (i.e. within 2 minutes of the visible image). The VIS Earth Camera is predominantly sensitive to the atomic oxygen emissions at 130.4 nm and 135.6 nm. In this image the complete northern auroral oval can be seen on the nightside of Earth. The sunlit dayside of Earth can be seen as the higher intensity crescent to the upper left.

The Principal Investigator is Dr. L. A. Frank and the Instrument Scientist and Manager is Dr. John. B. Sigwarth.

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Last Revised: January 21, 2005

Visible Imaging System (VIS) Sample Images

Contents

Figure 1

Figure 1a

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figures 11a & 11b

Visible Imaging System (VIS)
Sample Images