Published 14:05 IST, October 29th 2020
NASA shares photo of Australia taken from space, calls it 'Pumpkin Space Latte'
Terming the blends of orange and blue of the iconic terrain as “fall scape”, NASA wrote that that the land art fit for the stars is a photo of Australia.
A stunning photograph captured by International Space Station (ISS) astronaut Scott Kelly of beautiful Australia during the fall has reminded the internet of the “Pumpkin Space Latte”. Shared on NASA’s Instagram handle, the remarkable image of Australia, one of the Infinite Wonder, portrays a colour-enhanced vivid image of the Australian landscape that resembles the blend of a latte coffee with hues of the autumnal colours. Explaining the iconic flyover of Australia, NASA informed in the caption that the photo represents the “creamy clouds against burnt oranges and deep reds reminiscent of a classic Autumn treat.”
Terming the blends of orange and blue of the Australian terrain as “fall scape”, NASA wrote that that the land art fit for the stars is a photo of the continent Australia captured from ISS by astronaut Scott Kelly. “Go ahead, drink it in,” NASA continued. Earlier in October, NASA Kepler and Swift missions similarly observed a Passel of ‘Pumpkin’ Stars in space, that were spinning producing X-rays at more than 100 times the peak levels ever seen from the sun. Interestingly, these stars were squashed into pumpkin-like shapes. Nasa’s team obtained spectra by using the 200-inch telescope at Palomar Observatory in California in which they observed the chemical portraits of the stars that produced pumpkin shapes due to enhanced stellar activity. According to NASA, one could easily pair their pumpkin spice latte with ‘Pumpkin’ stars for Halloween.
Mesmeric beauty of Australian terrain
However, the recent spectacular terrain image is one among the series of remarkable images of Australia clicked by astronaut Scott Kelly from his vantage point 400km above the Earth. The portrait that gives the impression of a fall latte blend, is an unrecognisable landscape of Australia. In another such photograph, Kelly captured the Diamantina River, which stretches through South Australia and south-west Queensland that appeared like the jolts of blue electrical currents set across the white background. The red dunes also represent the mesmeric beauty of the terrain, while the salt lake provides yellow imagery as never seen before. According to NASA, “exact locations of Kelly’s image can be hard to determine, but most are of the arid centre.”
[The Diamantina River, which stretches through South Australia and south-west Queensland.Photograph: Scott Kelly/Nasa]
[Red sand dunes in central Australia.Photograph: Scott Kelly/Nasa]
[Kelly's image of The salt lake captured from ISS. Photograph: Scott Kelly/Nasa]
[Water flows into an outback lake in Australia as captured from ISS by astronaut Kelly. Photograph: Scott Kelly/Nasa]
[Salt lakes take on the appearance of cells in this image of Lake Everard in South Australia.Photograph: Scott Kelly/Nasa]
[Lake Gairdner, a large salt lake, in South Australia.Photograph: Scott Kelly/Nasa]
Updated 14:04 IST, October 29th 2020