Thick dust hovered over the Mediterranean Sea in early September
2011. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)
on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this natural-color image on
September 2. Spanning hundreds of kilometers, the dust is nearly
thick enough to hide the island of Sardegna (Sardinia). Dust
extends both east and west of the island, and fills the skies
southwest of neighboring Corse (Corsica). To the east, skies are
clear over mainland Italy. This image shows no source plumes for
the dust cloud, but the dust likely arose from Saharan sand seas
in Africa. NASA image courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA
GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott. - Terra - MODIS