Fire Burning in Oil Fields for Days Gives Off Smoke Visible From Space

Images of the oil field fire are stunning.

ByABC News
January 1, 2015, 4:15 PM
A clear plume of smoke from an oil fire in Libya was visible from space when a NASA satellite passed over the region in late December.
A clear plume of smoke from an oil fire in Libya was visible from space when a NASA satellite passed over the region in late December.
NASA

— -- Striking new photos released by NASA show how far the smoke from a fire at an oil field in Libya has traveled.

NASA's Earth Observatory released the photos taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer sensors on two different satellites.

PHOTO: A more zoomed-out version of the same scene shows how far the smoke travelled.
A more zoomed-out version of the same scene shows how far the smoke travelled.
PHOTO: Firefighters walk near the fire of a storage oil tank at the port of Es Sider in Ras Lanuf, Libya in this Dec. 29, 2014 file photo.
Firefighters walk near the fire of a storage oil tank at the port of Es Sider in Ras Lanuf, Libya in this Dec. 29, 2014 file photo.

The smoke is shown drifting over the Mediterranean Sea and reaching a different part of Libya across the water.

The space agency said the smoke was first visible from the satellites Dec. 26, but the photos they released were taken on the 29th and 30th, showing how the fire in the port city of was still raging.

PHOTO: Firefighters work to put out the fire of a storage oil tank at the port of Es Sider in Ras Lanuf, Libya in this Dec. 29, 2014 file photo.
Firefighters work to put out the fire of a storage oil tank at the port of Es Sider in Ras Lanuf, Libya in this Dec. 29, 2014 file photo.

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