On August 7, 2003, NASA's Aqua MODIS instrument acquired this image of Ireland on a day that most of the island was free of cloud cover. NASA has marked on the photo the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland as there is no physical boundary between the two parts of the island.

Called the Emerald Isle for a good reason, Ireland is draped in vibrant shades of green amidst the blue Atlantic Ocean and the Celtic (south) and Irish (east) Seas. Faint ribbons of blue-green phytoplankton drift in the waters of the Celtic Sea, just south of Dublin. Dublin itself appears as a large grayish-brown spot on the east coast. This large capital city (population 1.12 million) sits on the River Liffey which effectively splits the city in half. Seattle's Sister City, Galway, is on the west coast on Galway Bay, while Limerick is the grayish-brown spot on the mouth of the Shannon river. Belfast also sits on a river, the River Lagan. This city, though its population is only a fifth of the size of Dublin's, is also clearly visible in the image as a grayish-brown spot on the northeast coast, on the Irish Sea. To the West of Belfast is Ireland's largest lake, Lough Neagh.