A new map of Antarctica displayed last week at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., combines 1,100 digital satellite images into a mosaic with the most geologically accurate, true-color, high-resolution views of the frozen continent now possible.

The map, with a resolution 10 times greater than before, shows features half the size of a basketball court clearly, and is not pure white. It captures the textures and color variations of mountains, valleys and ice rivers and is available to researchers and the public online.

“This mosaic of images opens up a window to the Antarctic that we just haven’t had before,” said Robert Bindschadler, a NASA scientist who conceived the project. “This innovation is like watching high-definition TV in living color versus watching the picture on a grainy black-and-white television,” he said. “Anyone with a computer and a Web connection can now travel to Antarctica.”

A NASA site concentrating on educational material about the mosaic is at http://lima.nasa.gov. The map and detailed scientific information are also at a United States Geological Survey site at http://lima.usgs.gov.