NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
Orbiting from north to south, NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites pass over Antarctica many times a day, and with each pass they image a slice of the frozen continent.
The composite image above was created three days ago from data collected on various overpasses by Terra throughout the day, according to NASA. Each overpass is a pie-shaped wedge in the image.
The daily photo-like images of Antarctica -- made only in the austral summer when the southernmost continent is bathed in sunlight -- are valuable to scientists studying everything from ice to penguins, as well as to the crews of ships navigating through the southern ice pack, according to a caption published with this image on NASA's Earth Observatory page.
Get more information about this on NASA's MODIS Antarctica Project Page.
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