Rennell Island is part of the Solomon Islands, a nation in the western Pacific Ocean located northeast of Australia and east of Papua New Guinea. Rennell, also known as Mu Nggava Island, lies 210 kilometers (130 miles) south of Guadalcanal—the nation’s main island.
This photograph, taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, shows Rennell Island silhouetted against an ocean surface that is gleaming with sunglint. A line of small cumulus clouds casts shadows on the sea surface north of the island.
The lake at the east end of the island—also highlighted by sunglint—is Lake Te Nggano (also referred to as Tengano and Tegano). The lake is enclosed by a coral reef that rises above the sea surface and is densely forested, thus appearing as dark as the rest of the island. Te Nggano is the largest lake in the western Pacific Ocean.
Image Credit: ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, Johnson Space Center
