Indonesia´s Lesser Sunda Islands sparkle like green gems against the sapphire-blue waters of the Indian Ocean and Flores, Banda, Sawu, and Timor Seas. These islands form the southern border of Indonesia with Australia and stretch for 1,200 kilometers from the western island of Lombok on the left to the eastern tip of Timor, the largest island in the image. In a few places, bright turquoise-blue spots on the water mark tiny islands surrounded by shallow waters: the Kepulauan Taka´Bonerate islands in the upper center of the image, the Kepulauan Tukangbesi islands in the upper right, and the Ashmore and Cartier Islands (Australian territories) in the lower center. MODIS also detected a fire in this scene on Buton Island in the upper center part of this scene; the fire is marked in red. This true-color Terra MODIS image was acquired on March 18, 2003.

Credit Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Sensor Terra/MODIS

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