State of Florida as seen from Skylab

SL4-139-4029 (10 Jan. 1974) --- An oblique view of the State of Florida, looking northward up the peninsula, as photographed from the Skylab space station in Earth orbit by one of the Skylab 4 crewman. The camera used was a hand-held 70mm Hasselblad, with SO-368 medium-speed Ektachrome. This view shows almost the entire state, except the panhandle region. The Bahama Banks area appears in the southeast part of the picture as the light blue water. Andros Island in the Bahamas group is the island in the lower right corner. The Gulfstream flows between Florida and the Bahama Banks. This fast-moving, warm-water current transports energy from the tropics to the northern latitudes. The effect of the warmer Gulfstream waters on the atmosphere is seen as increased convection (caused by the warmer water heating the air from below) resulting in the fair weather cumulus seen confined primarily over the Gulfstream. A portion of Cuba is seen in the lower left corner of the picture. Photo credit: NASA