In August, we looked at the dazzling Rainbow Mountains of Zhangye National Geopark in China. This month for the Pléiades 1 – Pléiades Neo Point of Interest, we’re staying in Asia to take a peek at Oyunuma Lake, part of the Jigokudani Valley, Japan.
These two images of Oyunuma Lake exhibit the beautiful colors found in the Rainbow Mountains. Image one is a 50-cm photo was captured by Pléiades 1B on April 25, 2021. The second image is a 30-cm image captured by Pléiades Neo 3 on August 3, 2022. These images have custom processing and color balancing applied by Apollo Mapping. PLEIADES © CNES 2023, Distribution Airbus DS.About the Point of Interest: Oyunuma Lake (sometimes called Oyunuma Pond) is a picturesque crater lake located in the Jigokudani Valley which is close to Noboribetsu, Hokkaido. The lake is a geothermal hot spring and is renowned for its vivid turquoise waters. Oyunuma was formed by the eruption of Mount Hiyori. Jigokudani Valley, which literally translates to “Hell Valley,” contains numerous hot springs, mud pools and fumaroles, creating a visually striking and otherworldly environment. Hell Valley is a part of Joshin’etsukogen National Park, which was established in 1949.
Fun Factoids: (1) Oyunuma Lake, as well as many of the surrounding hot springs, are sulfurous, releasing the distinctive smell of rotten eggs. (2) There is a legend that the area around Oyunuma, because of the sulphureous smell and white steam rising from the springs, is “Hell’s cauldron”. (3) Shaped like a gourd, Oyunuma‘s surface temperature fluctuates between 104 and 122 degrees Fahrenheit; while at its depths, where the sulfurous springs erupt, temperatures reach an astounding 166 degrees. (4) Oyunuma is particularly spectacular in mid-October when the fall foliage reaches its peak. (5) Some of the hot springs in Jigokudani Valley home to the famous hot-tubbing snow monkeys. (6) While Oyunuma Lake is too hot to bathe in, visitors can use the natural footbath in the Oyunuma River, a hot spring river that flows from Lake Oyunuma, but with temperatures that are cooler.
The 50-cm Pléiades 1 High-Resolution Satellite Constellation
The Pléiades 1 constellation (or at least part of it!) has been in orbit since December 2011 and if you have not had a chance to check out any sample imagery, take a few moments and have a look at the gallery on our website. If you work with high-resolution imagery, you should consider Pléiades 1 and Pléiades Neo for your next geospatial projects.
A variety of Pléiades 1 products are available from both a well-established archive and as a new collection, including 50-centimeter (cm) pansharpened imagery and 50-cm panchromatic – 2-meter (m) 4-band multispectral bundles. We are happy to discuss the technical specifications, pricing and tasking options available with both of these satellite constellations.
The 30-cm Pléiades Neo High-Resolution Satellite Constellation
Pléiades Neo is our newest high-resolution satellite constellation. The first Neo satellite went up in April 2021 and the second in August of the same year. This 30-centimeter resolution constellation will add two more satellites in the next few months and upgrade from daily to intraday revisits. Pléiades Neo has six multispectral bands with 1.2-meter resolution, including a deep blue and two infrared bands, along with a 30-centimeter resolution panchromatic band.
The archive is growing every day, and the satellites are available for new collections, making Pléiades Neo the perfect solution for site monitoring. Check out our beautiful sample images in the Pléiades Neo gallery.
More sample images and technical information about Pléiades 1 can be found on our website here; while the same can be found here for the Pléiades Neo constellation.
The Apollo Mapping sales team can answer any questions you might have about Pléiades 1 and/or Pléiades Neo. We can be reached at (303) 993-3863 or sales@apollomapping.com.
Anne Choquette
Place Princess
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