Image of the Week - Letters to the North Pole

4,230 views · Published 20 December 2018 · 1:31 · Indexed 10 October 2026

Channel: USGS · 2018 · Science & Technology

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Unlike the South Pole, the geographic North Pole does not lie on a land mass. The Earth’s northern axis of rotation is in the Arctic Ocean, covered by shifting sea ice.

Landsat does not image the North Pole, which makes it an imperfect investigative tool for the detection of Santa’s workshop. 

It does, however, collect imagery over North Pole, Alaska, a small town south of Fairbanks that receives thousands of letters to Santa each year.

Each week, the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center highlights a new satellite image(s) featuring striking changes to the Earth's surface. Our images come from locations around the world.
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