An astronaut aboard the International Space Station took this oblique photograph looking toward the Arabian Peninsula while orbiting over South Asia. The countries of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and a small portion of Bahrain frame the western coastline of the Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf). On the Qatar Peninsula, the capital city, Doha, and the industrial port city of Ras Laffan are visible as dark patches along the coastline. In Saudi Arabia, the city of Al Hufūf (right side of the image) and the neighboring Al Hasa Oasis are visible as shades of dark green and gray.
The tall, narrow cloud in the center of the image, casting a dark shadow, is a cumulus congestus. These towering cumulus clouds form as warm, damp air rapidly rises, indicating a high-altitude atmospheric instability, and can develop into cumulonimbus. This oblique photo from the vantage point of space provides a unique view of the cloud structures (this astronaut photograph provides a more detailed view).
Small cumulus clouds are visible around the base of the tower cloud and can act as precursors to cumulonimbus clouds. Because the cloud line has formed at the shoreline, the wind is likely blowing onshore (from the lower left to the upper right). The process of cloud formation begins when the air is heated as it flows over the land surface, moving with the direction of the wind.
Sunglint is visible atop Persian Gulf waters on the lower right side of the image. This phenomenon is captured when light from a surface (like water) is reflected directly back towards the astronaut observer aboard the space station. At the bottom right of the image, waves are visible on the water surface, while at the top of the image, the atmosphere divides the horizon of Earth’s surface from the vastness of space.
Astronaut photograph ISS071-E-675996 was acquired on September 19, 2024, with a Nikon Z9 digital camera using a focal length of 140 millimeters. It is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 71 crew. The image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by Wilfredo García López/Jacobs-JETS II Contract at NASA-JSC.
