The Rim Fire, near Yosemite National Park, is quickly becoming one of the largest fires in California history. The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer, MISR onboard Terra uses its nine sensors pointed in different directions to collect data on how sunlight scatters across Earth. MISR captured the extensive, brown smoke emerging from the fire. This data is helping scientists understand how high these smoke plumes rise, disperse, travel, and ultimately affect air quality in other outlying areas. NPR published an image of the Rim Fire by MISR as it’s image of the week on Sept. 4, 2013. Read more