Astronaut Koichi Wakata captured from ISS Karman Votices around Robinson Crusoe Island and Alejandro Selkirk Island of the Juan Fernandez Islands, 670km off the coast of Santiago, Chile.
The flow of atmospheric air over obstacles such as islands or isolated mountains sometimes gives birth to von Kármán vortex streets. When a cloud layer is present at the relevant altitude, the streets become visible. The Juan Fernández Islands are a sparsely inhabited island group in the South Pacific Ocean which is part of Chile’s Valparaíso Region. Situated 670km off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic islands: Robinson Crusoe, Alejandro Selkirk and Santa Clara. The islands are primarily known for having been the home to the marooned sailor Alexander Selkirk for more than 4 years from 1704, which may have inspired Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. Most of the archipelago’s present-day inhabitants reside on Robinson Crusoe Island, and mainly in the capital, San Juan Bautista, located at Cumberland Bay on the island’s north coast.
The local scenery on the ground is as follows.
Reference: Koichi Wakata’s Tweet
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