November 28, 2021 - Momijigari on Kyushu Island, Japan
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As autumn’s shortening daylight and cooler temperatures wash across
Japan, the foliage of deciduous trees put on a spectacular show. The
bright reds and yellows start to color the farthest northern regions,
on Hokkaido Island, as early as mid-September and sweep southward,
often ending in mid-to-late-November on the southerly island of Kyushu.
The beauty of changing leaves brings people out to enjoy the gorgeous
colors, a tradition called “momijigari” in Japanese. Literally
translated as “red leaf hunting”, it is said to have been practiced as
long ago as the Heian Period (794-1195 AD) and the season is celebrated
across Japan in many ways in modern times, including red maple-leaf
shaped cakes and maple leaf tempura. The changing of the leaves is a
reminder that life is fleeting.
On November 20, 2021, cloud-free skies allowed the Moderate Resolution
Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite to
acquire a true-color image of Kyushu Island. Kyushu is the most
southerly of Japan’s four largest islands and rich in forests and
volcanoes. While most of the forests remain green across the island,
splashes of orange and red can be seen within the green, especially
surrounding the Aso Volcano in the center of the island. Reds also ring
the Kuju Volcano in the northeast corner of the extremely large Aso
caldera. Although visible on the 1 km image, the colors are more easily
seen at the higher resolutions (500 km and 250 km).
Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 11/20/2021
Resolutions: 1km (242.3 KB), 500m (675.8 KB), 250m (1.4 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2021-11-28
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