Antarctica's Tallest Peak

NASA’s DC-8 flying laboratory passes Antarctica’s tallest peak, Mount Vinson, on October 22, 2012, during a flight over the continent to measure changes in the massive ice sheet and sea ice. The flight is part of NASA’s Operation IceBridge, a multi-year airborne campaign to monitor changes in Earth’s polar ice caps in both the Antarctic and Arctic. IceBridge science flights from Punta Arenas, Chile, began on October 12 and continue through early November. Mount Vinson is located in the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains in Antarctica.

Image Credit: NASA/Michael Studinger
Explanation from: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2380.html