Astronaut Photography of Earth - Display Record
NM21-740-24
Low-resolution Browse Image
Identification
Mission: NM21 Roll:
740 Frame: 24 Mission ID on the Film or image: NM21
Country or
Geographic Name: TURKEY
Features: ISTANBUL,THE GOLDEN HORN
Center Point Latitude: 41.0 Center Point Longitude: 29.0 (Negative numbers indicate south for
latitude and west for longitude)
Stereo:
Yes (Yes indicates there is an adjacent picture of the same
area)
ONC Map ID: F-03 JNC Map ID: 22
Camera
Camera Tilt: Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length:
250mm
Camera: HB: Hasselblad
Film:
5046 : Kodak, natural color positive, Lumiere 100/5046, ASA 100, standard
base.
Quality
Film Exposure: Normal
Percentage
of Cloud Cover: 0 (0-10)
Nadir
Date: 19960502 (YYYYMMDD)GMT Time:
(HHMMSS)
Nadir Point Latitude: , Longitude:
(Negative numbers indicate south for latitude and west for
longitude)
Nadir to Photo Center Direction:
Sun Azimuth:
(Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at
the nadir point)
Spacecraft Altitude: nautical miles (0
km)
Sun Elevation Angle: (Angle in degrees between the
horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point)
Orbit Number:
Captions
NM21-740-024 Bosporus, Istanbul, Turkey Spring/Summer
1996
One of the world’s strategic waterways, the Bosporus can be seen in this
west-looking view. The Bosporus, which means “ox-ford”, connects the Black Sea
(top right) with the Sea of Marmara (Marble Sea) (bottom left). It also
separates European Turkey (upper left) from Asiatic Turkey (bottom right).
Structurally, the Bosporus is an inundated valley following an irregular
northeast-southwest course, 18 miles (29 km) long, widths varying from a little
over 2 miles (4 km) at its northern mouth to 800 yards (730 meters) at Rumeli
Hisari, midway along the strait. Although the current flows from north to south,
there is a strong subsurface counter current, and numerous points and coves that
set up whirls and eddies that make navigation of the strait dangerous to the
inexperienced. At the Bosporus’ southern end is located one of the great
historic cities in the world, Istanbul, formerly known as the city of
Constantinople. Istanbul is the chief city, seaport, and tourist resort of
Turkey as well a commercial and financial center. The European part of Istanbul
is the terminus of an international rail service formerly called the Orient
Express. In 1973, the European and Asian sections of Istanbul were linked by the
opening of the Bosporus Suspension Bridge, (3524 feet/1074 meters long), which
is discernible near the center of the image. Also discernible on the image just
to the south of Istanbul anchored in the Sea of Marmara are large merchant ships
(white-looking dots). In August 1999, a severe earthquake occurred just east of
the Istanbul region on the Asian side killing thousands and destroying numerous
buildings and other structures.