April 26, 2023 - Australia's Red Centre

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Red and orange outback along with weathered mountain ridges dominate
the landscape of Australia’s Red Centre in this true-color image
acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)
on board NASA’s Terra satellite on April 24, 2023.

The Red Centre is the local name given to the southern desert region of
Australia’s Northern Territory, and gets its name not only because it
contains the median center point of Australia, said to be located west
of the Stuart Highway and south of Alice Springs, but because of the
stunning red tone of the soils. According to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Australia happens to have a perfect
environment for a form of chemical weathering called oxidation, which
occurs in rocks that contain high amounts of iron. In a hot, dry
environment, these types of rocks actually begin to rust. As the rust
expands, it weakens the rock and helps break it apart. The oxides
produced through this process give the ground its reddish hue.

The folded mountains that span this image are the MacDonnell Range. The
worn, parallel ridges were formed 300-350 million years ago and contain
not only granite, limestone, sandstone, and siltstone rocks, but also
stunning red quartzite peaks and gorges. In some areas, dry scrubby
grassland, known as a xeric shrub ecosystem, provides habitat for
several unusual endemic species. A patch of gray pixels can be seen
crossing the mountainous landscape roughly one-third of the way from
the right (east) side of the image. This is the town of Alice Springs,
the third-largest town of Northern Territory and the only town of any
size in the Red Centre.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 4/24/2023
Resolutions: 1km (208.4 KB), 500m (555.5 KB), 250m (327.7
KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-04-26

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