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Earth from Space 2000 Calendar

This image is centered on a portion of the north Atlantic Ocean, several hundred miles due west of Portugal, not far from the Azores. In this image, light green represents rougher water with stronger winds, and dark purple represents calmer water with weaker winds. An ocean front separating warmer water from cooler water runs along the boundary between the light green region and the dark purple region. The dark patches are produced by smooth areas of very low wind, and the bright green patches are produced by ice crystals in clouds along the front. The image was obtained by SIR-C/X-SAR on the Space Shuttle Endeavor on April 11, 1994 and shows an area about 22 mi (36 km) on a side.