Satellite photo reveals multiple fires burning in Argentina

BAHIA BLANCA, Argentina, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- Argentina is on fire. NASA has the proof.

Last week, the Operational Land Imager, the camera on NASA's Landsat 8 satellite -- part of the Earth Observatory mission -- snapped a natural color photograph of several wildfires burning in Argentina. One especially large fire produced a massive plume of white smoke.

This week, NASA's Aqua satellite imaged the same area using its Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS instrument. The newer image offers a wide angle view and collects data from a wide range of spectral wavelengths. Scientists rely on MODIS to track cloud cover, vegetation changes, sea levels, wildfires and more.

Red outlines in the MODIS image reveal the still active wildfire hotspots. Smoke plumes can be seen drifting across two Argentine cities, Victoria and Bahia Blanca.