Strange Spikes Over Siberia Stump ISS Astronauts (Video)

(N.Morgan) The astronauts of the ISS have posed a question in regards to some strange spikes the astronauts observed over Siberia. That’s what astronauts were asking this June, when the sight of strange, dark-green features running along Siberia’s Kulunda Steppe left them stumped, according to NASA’s Earth Observatory. The curving features streak across the plain near the Ob River, and can be seen from the International Space Station (ISS) when it flies over the Northern Hemisphere’s 52nd parallel, the highest latitude of its orbit. Fortunately for the ISS astronauts’ burning curiosity, researchers at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston had answers. The spikes are a side effect of the geology of the region: Folded surface rocks (shaped by tectonic forces) dip lower than the surrounding land, creating long, linear valleys filled with pine forests. From space, the pines appear as a darker shade of green than the surrounding agricultural fields, according to the Earth Observatory.

The spikes also appear in a winter scene snapped by an ISS astronaut more than a decade ago, in 2003. In that image, snow covers the fields surrounding the folds, doubly highlighting the pine forests within. The Siberian spikes aren’t the only odd feature of the Kulunda Steppe. The landscape is dotted with saltwater lakes, including Gorkoye Lake, which can be seen within the dark-green forest on the left side of this image. According to the region’s tourism department, people visit the lake’s waters, as well as the rich mud at the lake’s bottom, for healing purposes.

More Stories Contributed By N. Morgan