An oil slick remained in the Gulf of Mexico on May 10, 2010, not far from the Mississippi Delta. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this photo-like image of the slick at 11:35 a.m. local time (16:35 UTC) the same day.
Thin, wispy clouds partially obscure the satellite sensor’s view of the ocean surface south of the Mississippi Delta, but oil on the water’s surface is still apparent southeast of the delta. The most obvious portion of the gray-beige slick arches toward the west, with inward-curling tendrils. Sunlight reflecting off the ocean surface makes the oil obvious to the satellite sensor.