image: This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite on June 29, 2014. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS's thermal bands, are outlined in red.
Each red hot spot is an area where the thermal detectors on the MODIS instrument recognized temperatures higher than background. When accompanied by plumes of smoke, as in this image, such hot spots are diagnostic for fire. This is not unusual in this remote region of Russia and at this time of year. Wildfires burn large portions of the Russian landscape each summer due to hot, dry conditions.
Credit: NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption: NASA/Goddard, Lynn Jenner