An unmanned jet plane flies high over the Afghan landscape,
using a technology called synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, to
search for signs of Al Qaeda. With its ability to "see" in
complete darkness and through rain and clouds in the sky and
snow and foliage on the ground, SAR (pronounced "sar" rather
than "S-A-R") is becoming a regular component of unmanned
aerial vehicles, or UAVs.
Other useful applications for SAR include mapping planets
(such as the perpetually cloud-covered Venus), mapping terrain
here on Earth, and even looking for signs of earthquakes. For
some, what's most fascinating about SAR is not what it can
"image" or even that it can produce remarkably high-quality
pictures, but that an image can be created at all using radar
waves and a moving antenna. To launch the
interactive, click on
the image at left.
This interactive originally appeared on NOVA's
Spies That Fly Web site.
