Japan – The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, has released a Stunning image on Thursday of Morocco’s Anti-Atlas Mountains, showcasing astonishing colors.
According to NASA, the mountains formed as a result of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates colliding about 80 million years ago.
The space agency said in a statement that, “The limestone, sandstone, claystone and gypsum layers that formed the ocean bed were folded and crumpled to create the Anti-Atlas Mountains.”
[ads1]
“In this image of southwest Morocco, visible, near infrared and short wavelength infrared bands are combined to dramatically highlight the different rock types, and illustrate the complex folding.” NASA added.
The image was acquired on November 5, 2007, by the ASTER instrument on the Terra, a satellite which was launched in December 1999 and has been orbiting the earth for 20 years.
“Terra launched 20 years ago in December 1999, beginning a new era in the study of Earth. Terra, flagship of the agency’s Earth Observing System, was built to last for six years and 30,000 orbits. But, 20 years later Terra and its five onboard instruments continue on a mission of discovery, providing data about the planet we call home”. added NASA.