Grant F. Walton Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis Views of New Jersey Title

The Magic of Low Light
Sunglint


Sunlight reaches the surface of the Earth at a variety of angles, which vary over the course of a day. When the sun is directly overhead, incoming rays make a large angle with the surface (~90 degrees). When the sun is low on the horizon, incoming rays make a small angle with the surface (less than 10 degrees). At dawn and dusk, the sun is lowest in the sky and the angle of incident solar rays is lowest. During these periods of "low light" a number of features on Earth are highlighted. Among these is the reflection of the sun on water surfaces - a special phenomenon called sunglint. Images with sunglint are excellent for observing lakes, rivers, bays, and oceans, as well as surface features on them like currents, eddies, and ripples. Over large areas of water, calm water is usually bright while rippled water is darker.

       Delaware River and NJ Coast
       (view to E)
       Atlantic Ocean, Bays, and Hudson River
       (view to SW)
       Delaware Bay and Coasts of NJ & MD
       (view to E)
       Ripples in Delaware Bay
       (view to N)
       Northern NJ Lakes, Rivers, and Coast
       (view to SE)
       Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean
       (view to NE)
       Delaware and Chesapeake Bays
       (view to W)
       Delaware Bay and Southern NJ Coast
       (view to S)
       NJ Coast and Bays
       (view to SW)
       Currents in Atlantic Ocean and NJ Bays
       (view to S)
       Currents in Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound
       (view to S)
       Lake Erie and Finger Lakes (foreground)
       (view to SE)
       Southern NJ Coast and Bays
       (view to NE)
       Atlantic Ocean Currents and Hudson River
       (view to NW)
       Long Island Sound and Atlantic Ocean
       (view to SE)

All imagery courtesy of Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center. For additional information on NASA Shuttle Photography, goto Shuttle Photography Basics.

Please read our Disclaimer before using any of these photographs.

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Grant F. Walton Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (CRSSA)Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Grant F. Walton Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (CRSSA)
14 College Farm Road
Environmental and Natural Resources Building
Cook College - Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ, USA 08901-8551
tel: 732.932.1582
fax: 732.932.2587
web: http://www.crssa.rutgers.edu/

Site last updated 8 September 2003