Whoa.

Dust wafts across the North African coast in an image taken by NASA's Terra satellite. The plumes originated from Senegal, Mauritania, and Gambia, and their thick brown appearance reveals that the dust was kicked up recently-it is still tightly packed before fanning out over its a long journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The Cape Verde Islands (at left) nestle in the waters just offshore. (For a different kind of long-distance dust journey, read about how cosmic dust can affect you.)