This satellite image shows how aerosols can obscure the land and sea beneath, blocking incoming sunlight. Smoke from dozens of fires (left side of image) in China swirls down along valleys and then out over Bo Hai Bay (upper right) on its way towards Korea and the Pacific Ocean. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument, flying aboard NASA's Aqua satellite, on October 16, 2002.
Image courtesy of Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC.