One of the photos also shows a crater-like formation in the desert.
An astronaut from the European Space Agency (ESA) has shared breathtaking photos of the Namib Desert in western Namibia, captured from space. The Namib is believed to be one of the oldest deserts on Earth, dating back 55 million years.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen shared a few photos from the Namib on Friday, showing features of the coastal desert. “The rolling sand seas of the Namib Desert along the coast of Namibia. It may be the oldest desert in the world, dating from 55 to 80 million years,” he wrote.
One of the photos also shows a crater-like formation in the desert surrounded by sand dunes, which Mr Mogensen believes is Brukkaros Mountain.
“A little inland from the sand dunes is Brukkaros Mountain. Although it looks like a meteor crater from space, it is actually a caldera about 4 km in diameter, created by an underground explosion when groundwater became superheated by rising magma,” he wrote.
The rolling sand seas of the Namib Desert along the coast of Namibia???????? It may be the oldest desert in the world, dating back 55 to 80 million years. Slightly inland from the sand dunes is Brukkaros Mountain. Although it looks like a meteor crater from space, it is… pic.twitter.com/dCeUpuhEkl
— Andreas Mogensen (@Astro_Andreas) September 15, 2023
Considered one of the driest places on earth, the Namib means ‘an area where there is nothing’ in the local Nama language.
According to the American space agency NASA, the Namib coastal desert is formed due to a cool ocean current called the Benguela Current. The current suppresses rainfall in the region but creates morning fog that gets stuck on the surface of the sand dunes and allows sparse vegetation growth in some places.
The dunes in the Namib Desert, formed by strong onshore winds, are the highest in the world, reaching heights of up to 350 meters in some places.
The dunes form when materials are transported over thousands of kilometers via rivers, ocean currents and wind. The reptiles and mammals of the arid region depend on fog, their main source of water.
