image: Bushfires tend to break out in the lush overgrown and remote areas of Australia like the Northern Territory. In this image, the MODIS instrument on the Aqua satellite captured several dozen bushfires in this image. Most of the fires in this image are relatively new, between 12 and 48 hours old. Most likely the bushfires were caused by lightning strikes in this remote area, however, the fires could also have had a human start by careless oversight of campfires, uncontrolled prescribed burns, or cigarettes.
This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite on June 5, 2015. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS's thermal bands, are outlined in red.
Credit: NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption: NASA/Goddard, Lynn Jenner