Seen from space: Part of Atlantic Ocean twinkles in gold due to sunglint

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released a radiant image of Earth, which captures the brilliant golden light in part of the Atlantic Ocean.

The visual phenomenon is known as sunglint and it occurs when the sun’s rays reflect off the ocean’s surface at the exact angle seen by a camera or satellite sensor, creating a radiant, mirror-like glow across the water.

In a social media post, NASA said the sunglint’s light and glare pose a challenge to scientists since it can block features that are usually visible, so researchers developed methods to screen sunglint-contaminated imagery out of data archives.?

This could especially be a problem for oceanographers who use satellites to study phytoplankton and the color of the ocean.

On the other hand, sunglint helps scientists easily spot oil on the water surface, whether it comes from natural leaks or human-caused oil spills.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by NASA (@nasa)