Image: Wollemi National Park bushfires in New South Wales, Australia

NASA's Aqua satellite detected many bushfires in Wollemi National Park, located in the Australian state of New South Wales, outside of Sydney. Sydney is the state capital and the most populated city in Australia.

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over New South Wales, located in southeastern Australia on Nov. 4 at 03:40 UTC/Nov. 3 10:40 p.m. EST. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard Aqua satellite has infrared capabilities that can detect heat from the various wildfires. In the MODIS image the fire or hot spot appears red and smoke appears in light brown.

The MODIS image showed that many fires and a large area of smoke from the combined fires were occurring in the Wollemi National Park, located northwest of Sydney.

The MODIS image was generated at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.