English: On June 26, 2017, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite flew over the beautiful blue waters of the Aegean Sea and acquired a true-color image of the scene.

The Aegean Sea is one of the four major basins of the Mediterranean Sea and is bounded by Greece on the north and west with Turkey on the east. The large Greek islands of Rhodes, Crete, and Kythera form the southernmost boundary of the Aegean. While both Greek and Turkey are seen in this image, as are the islands of Rhode (east) and Kythera (west), the island of Crete lies south of the lower border of the image and is not visible. The Sea of Marmara can be seen in the northeastern section of the image.

More than 3,000 islands are scattered across the approximately 93,664 sq. mi. (240,000 sq. km.) area of the saltwater sea. Many of the islands are inhabited and they are a popular draw for tourists from across the world. They are divided into several major groups. One notable group, the Cyclades, sits in the central region of the Aegean. They encircle the tiny, sacred island of Delos, which is thought to have been inhabited as early as the third millennium B.C. One of the mystic claims of the island is that it said to have been the birthplace of the twin gods, Apollo and Artemis. The other groups are the Dodecanese or Southern Sporades, which sit near the southern coast of Turkey. Rhodes is one of this group. The Aegean or North Aegean Islands sit in the North Aegean Sea. The Sporades Islands are near the east coast of Greece. Finally, the Ionian Islands sit in the Ionian Sea, while the Saronic Islands sit in the gulf near the Peloponnese Peninsula.