Jack Frost nipping at Alaska's nose

Jeff Schmaltz / NASA MODIS / GSFC

This outer-space view of southwest Alaska was captured on Nov. 21 by the MODIS imager on NASA's Aqua satellite.

This satellite picture captures a broad view of southwest Alaska just as Jack Frost is nipping at the northernmost state's "nose."

NASA's Aqua satellite took aim at the region with its Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, on Nov. 21. Even though that's a month before the official start of winter, Arctic sea ice is beginning to form, creating white tendrils that spread out from the Alaska Peninsula (a geological feature that always reminds me of an elephant's nose).

If you take a close look at the picture, you can trace the snow-covered volcanoes on the peninsula, the tan patches of bare land, the bright reflections from Alaska's frozen rivers and the deep green boreal forests breaking through a white blanket of frost. Need a closer look? Check out this 4-megabyte, 250-meter-resolution version from NASA's MODIS website. To get your bearings, compare the recent view with this annotated satellite picture from Google Maps.

This frosty look at Alaska serves as today's offering from the Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar, which features a fresh view of Earth from space every day from now until Christmas. Follow the links below to feast your eyes on more visual goodies for the holiday season:

• 2012 Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar
• Day 1: A fantastic Chinese fan
• Day 2: Satellite shows a Grander Canyon
• Day 3: Typhoon stirs awe — and alarm
• Day 4: Glittering nighttime view of Riyadh
• Day 5: Night lights shine on 'Black Marble'
• Day 6: Holy sites seen at night
• Day 7: Blue Marble still leaves its mark
• Day 8: Satellites look into a volcano's hell
• 2011 Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar
• 2010 Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar
• The Atlantic: Hubble Advent Calendar
• Zooniverse Advent Calendar