File:Lake Torrens (MODIS 2019-06-04).jpg

English: Lake Torrens sits in central South Australia about 214 mi (345 km) north of Adelaide, Australia. It is a large ephemeral salt lake, which typically remains covered with a layer of salt. When heavy rains come, the lakebed becomes soft, boggy, and if rains are heavy enough, sometimes contains salt-crusted water. While Lake Torrens may gain some water each year in the rainy season, it rarely fills completely.

On June 2, 2019, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a stunning false-color image of Lake Torrens and surrounding salt pans and salt lakes.

This false-color image uses a combination of visible and infrared light to make it easier to distinguish between land, water, and vegetation. With this band combination, water appears light blue and vegetation is green. Open land with little vegetation appears tan. The brilliant blues of Lake Torrens (east-most lake) show that the lake contains water, especially where the blue is brightest along the western edges. Because the water is covered with a crust of salt, in a true-color image the lake water would be obscured by the highly-reflective white of salt.