An astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) captured a remarkable image of Lake Dukan in Iraq, which resembles a festively decorated Christmas tree. The lake's distinctive triangular shape, created by human intervention, is accentuated by natural and photographic phenomena.
This 2018 astronaut photo shows off an unusually triangular 'Christmas tree' lake in Iraq that appears to be dressed up for the holidays with a mix of both natural, artificial and illusory decorations. Lake Dukan is a human-made reservoir that was fully formed in 1959 after the completion of the Dukan Dam — a huge hydroelectric dam near the city of Ranya in Iraq 's Kurdistan region.
The large tree-shaped triangle stretches up to 6 miles (10 kilometers) across from its'base' to its'top'; and a smaller gangly offshoot appears to hang off the tree's top like a wonky star, where the dam drains into the Little Zab River, according to NASA's Earth Observatory. While the lake is not known locally for its festive shape, it is a sought-after landmark for astronauts on board the International Space Station during the holidays.'Looking down from space, features on Earth appear in many familiar shapes — and Lake Dukan just happens to look like a Christmas tree,' NASA representatives wrote. Festive decorationsIn the astronaut photo (above), two additional festive decorations are on display. First, the tree is covered with tinsel-like green swirls that are the result of algae blooming across the lake's surface, triggered by warm weather and agricultural run-off. Second, around a dozen black dots are littered across the tree like ornaments. However, unlike the blooming tinsel, the shadowy ornaments are not there. Instead, the spots are artifacts in the photo caused by a phenomenon called lens flare in the astronaut's camera, in which light gets scattered by slight imperfections in the camera's lens, according to Earth Observator
Lake Dukan Astronaut Photo Christmas Tree Lake Iraq NASA Earth Observatory
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