Smoke and mirrors

Hello map lovers!
You will already be familiar with NASA satellite images, the sight of the Earth from space is a common one. The agency does more than just fly shuttle runs past our atmosphere and back as the series of pictures tracking the Southern California wildfires illustrate. The images were taken with one of NASA's research satellites and offer a truly remarkable view of the course of the fires.
Click here to see pictures of the plume of smoke billowing out over the Pacific Ocean on NASA's website like the one below.
(Credit: Nasa)

Delcan McCullagh, writing on Cnet, adds: 'The images show smoke from the fires being blown west over the Pacific Ocean from a portion of the state stretching from Santa Barbara to Riverside County. They were taken with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, which specializes in measurements including cloud cover, ocean color, and water vapor, and has delivered pictures of notable events including Hurricane Katrina and Bangladesh flooding in the past.'

Declan advises another way to view the effects of the fires is to check out the Google Earth maps of the area. Available maps include a detailed outline of the area, homes affected, official warnings, and evacuation orders.