Sunglint On The Massachusetts Coastline. Postcard

June 27, 2011 - Sunglint on the Massachusetts coastline. Sunglint is caused by sunlight reflecting off of a water surface much as light reflects from a mirror directly towards the observer. Roughness variations of the water surface scatter the light, blurring the reflection and producing the typical silvery sheen of the sunglint area. The point of maximum sunglint is centered within Cape Cod Bay, the body of water partially enclosed by the hook of Cape Cod in Massachusetts (bottom). Sunglint off the water provides sharp contrast with the coastline and the nearby islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket (lower left). To the north, rocky Cape Ann extends out into the Atlantic Ocean; the border with New Hampshire is located approximately 30 kilometers up the coast. Further to the west, the eastern half of Long Island, New York is visible emerging from extensive cloud cover over the mid-Atlantic and Midwestern States. Thin blue layers of the atmosphere, contrasted against the darkness of space, are visible extending along the Earth's curvature at top.