This Echo is READ ONLY !   NO Un-Authorized Messages Please!
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Space Station Science

Picture of the Day

June 3, 2003

The Valley of the Kings: Part 2
Photo credit: ISS Expedition 6 science officer Don Pettit, NASA

June 3, 2003: More than three thousand years ago, in ancient Egypt,
the west bank of the Nile at Thebes (now Luxor) was dotted with
mortuary temples. Their purpose: to remind common folk that departed
pharaohs were connected to the gods. 

The temples were carefully placed between the Nile (to the east) and
the Valley of the Kings (to the west). During the day the sun would
pass first over a pharaoh's temple, and then later over that
pharaoh's tomb in the Valley--a symbolically important connection.

Sunset was indeed a special time. Viewed from Thebes the sun sank
westward behind the Valley of the Kings and, many believed, into the
netherworld. Death, the afterlife, the tombs of kings: these things
naturally came to mind as the Nile valley grew dark. 

Not anymore.

The sun still sets over the Nile, but the nights aren't as dark as
they used to be. On April 11, 2003, ISS science officer Don Pettit
used his "barn door tracker" to capture this nighttime photo of the
river's Great Bend region, where the Valley of the Kings is located.
The Nile is aglow with modern lights: cities such as Luxor and Qena,
for example, are bright and striking. Well-lit roads, like the one
from Luxor to its airport (which appears as a bright dot) criss-cross
the image. The sites of old mortuary temples are more likely to make
you squint than to contemplate. 

Fortunately, the Valley of the Kings itself remains dark. It's
sheltered from ambient light pollution by distance and steep
hillsides. In that spot, invisible to astronauts at night, the
ancient dark remains. 

Today's picture, ISS006-E-44645, was captured using a digital camera
and an 85 mm lens. Additional images taken by astronauts and
cosmonauts may be viewed at the NASA-JSC Gateway to Astronaut
Photography of Earth. 

Credits & Contacts
Author: Dr. Tony Phillips 
Responsible NASA official: Ron Koczor 
Production Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips 
Curator: Bryan Walls 
Media Relations: Catherine Watson

 - END OF FILE -
==========

@Message posted automagically by IMTHINGS POST 1.30
---