This image of the Antarctic Peninsula shows an impressive view of the area. At the bottom and right we can see several pieces of ice that have become detached from the shore. Since the width of a standard beam image is 100 km, we can estimate that the largest of the two drifting pieces is more than 30 km wide.

High resolution images of the continent were captured for the first time by RADARSAT-1 in 1997. It was done for the Antarctic Mapping Mission which was a collaboration between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. For more detail on this project, see www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/radarsat1/antarctic.asp.

To order this or any other RADARSAT-1 image, please visit:
www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/satellites/radarsat1/order_data.asp