ASTER, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, is an imaging instrument on the Terra satellite. As a part of NASA’s Earth Observing System, Terra and ASTER are used to obtain detailed maps of land surface temperature, reflectance and elevation.  ASTER provides high-resolution images of the Earth in 15 different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, ranging from visible to thermal infrared light. Image resolution ranges between 15 to 90 meters.

On April 18, 2002, Terra overflew Monument Valley. The data that was acquired was combined with digital elevation data from the U.S. Geological Survey National Elevation Dataset, to produce this 3-D perspective of the Valley.

The view is centered near 36.8 degrees north latitude, 110.3 degrees west longitude.

ASTER 3-D perspective of Monument Valley

Image credit: NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team