SPACEPHOTOS

A river of smoke from fires in western Russia hung over the northern oceans and Northern Europe in early May 2006. Milky white over the deep blue Norwegian Sea, a thick cloud of smoke drifts north along the coast of Norway in this photo-like image, taken on May 7, 2006. The smoke is coming from hundreds of fires burning in western Russia, most of which are probably agricultural fires. By the time this image was taken, smoke had lingered over the Norwegian Sea for more than a week as the fires continued to burn. In this image, hazy skies extend from Denmark, lower right, west to Iceland, upper left. The densest of the smoke hangs over the Shetland Islands (right) and the Faroe Islands (left). The northern shores of Great Britain are in the lower left corner of the image.