Watching the Fires from Space

Up here in the Rockies we’re seeing the effects of the Station Fire near Pasadena in a most dramatic way — ash in the air, blood-red sunsets and a red Moon. There’s so much ash floating around that our mountains in the distance look like one of those Japanese watercolor paintings with mist-shrouded hills.

But, far from being mist, this stuff is the particulate matter distributed from the fires consuming more than 100,000 acres (and growing) of brush, trees, and homes.  Overnight the historic (and very busy) Mt. Wilson Observatory was threatened by the fire, but thanks to the efforts of fire crews, the observatory is (so far) spared from the flames. (Note: the link goes to Mt. Wilson’s webcam which may or may not be operating.  For more info about Mt. Wilson itself, go here.)

I find it fascinating to look at the satellite images of this fire — or any fire in any region on our planet.  As time goes by, you’ll see more of these images, with the smoke plumes heading out and affecting other areas.  What happens in one place on our planet inevitably affects other places.  This is why NASA and other space agencies are launching mission after mission to study our home world — to understand the processes it experiences and how all the various systems of our planet are linked together.  Often, as with the fires in SoCal, understanding and studying these topics is a matter of life and death.