Several large, smoky fires were burning in Northern Australia on September 14, 2004, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this image. Fire is common in northern Australia this time of year as the grass that grew during the wet season dries in the dry winter and spring. Fire is used as a land management technique, but some of these fires may also have been triggered by lightning. Darkened land around some of the larger fires show where the grass has recently been burned. This image is available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team in multiple resolutions.
NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
