Out there, in the vastness of space, there are a billion worlds that look like this at sunset. But this alien scene of endless ponds is right here on Earth.
Sunsets started to tease the Arctic horizon as scientists on board the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy headed south in the Chukchi Sea during the final days collecting ocean data for the 2011 ICESCAPE mission.
The ICESCAPE mission, or “Impacts of Climate on Ecosystems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment,” is a NASA shipborne investigation to study how changing conditions in the Arctic affect the ocean’s chemistry and ecosystems. The bulk of the research took place in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas in summer 2010 and 2011.
Yes, I want to enroll in NASA for more than just the spaceships. [NASA Goddard Flickr]
Image: Kathryn Hansen