A satellite-based analysis indicates that nearly 27 million tons of wheat were harvested from the country’s farms this year, but Ukraine won’t reap all of the benefits.
Image of the Day Land Unique Imagery Human Presence Remote Sensing
The Landsat 9 satellite acquired this image of the eruption as lava flowed past the Mauna Loa Observatory toward Saddle Road.
Fifty years after Apollo 17 astronauts photographed the iconic “blue marble” image, cameras in space have again captured distant views of our home planet.
Published Dec 7, 2022
Intense explosions at the summit sent avalanches of ash and mud racing down the southeastern flank of the Indonesian volcano.
Published Dec 6, 2022
Water, frozen and flowing, shapes and colors this rural area of Western Mongolia.
Published Dec 4, 2022
Almost all life in the ocean depends on tiny photosynthetic organisms known as phytoplankton.
Published Dec 3, 2022
Forests are burning after being primed by warm temperatures and a lack of rain.
Published Dec 1, 2022
The light show dipped south of the Arctic Circle, where it was especially bright over northeastern Canada.
Published Dec 1, 2022
During the first eruption in nearly four decades, satellites observed the volcano’s nighttime glow and sulfur dioxide plume.
Published Nov 29, 2022
New evidence shows that a sufficient amount of daylight penetrates the ice to sustain blooms of floating, plant-like organisms.
Published Nov 29, 2022
The origin of this nearly perfectly curved shoreline, a feature not often found in nature, has prompted an ongoing geologic debate.
Published Nov 28, 2022
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a different part of the world? What would the weather be like? What kinds of animals would you see? Which plants live there? By investigating these questions, you are learning about biomes.
Published Aug 28, 2020
Ocean temperatures can influence weather, such as hurricane formation, and climate patterns, such as El Niño. These maps show the temperature at the surface of the world’s seas and oceans.
The estuary system marks the transition between the Great Altar Desert in northwestern Mexico and the Gulf of California.
Published Nov 27, 2022
Massachusetts has a long-standing relationship with one of Thanksgiving’s iconic foods—the cranberry.
Published Nov 24, 2022
In honor of our site anniversary, we offer a selection of some of the most beautiful, newsworthy, interesting, and scientifically important images from 23 years online — one image for each day of the calendar year.
Published Apr 26, 2022
When fuels such as coal, wood, and oil burn incompletely, they produce carbon monoxide. The gas is spread by winds and circulation. These maps show monthly averages of CO in the lower atmosphere.
For the third time in a decade, the winner hails from the Canary Islands.
Published Mar 1, 2022
12 months of high-resolution global true color satellite imagery.
Published Oct 13, 2005
NASA satellites document how our world—forests, oceans, human landscapes, even the Sun—changes over months, seasons, and years.
Published Apr 29, 2009
Greenness is an important indicator of health for forests, grasslands, and farms. The greenness of a landscape, or vegetation index, depends on the number and type of plants, how leafy they are, and how healthy they are.
Satellite images of Earth at night have been a curiosity for the public and a tool of fundamental research for at least 25 years. They have provided a broad, beautiful picture, showing how humans have shaped the planet and lit up the darkness.
Published Apr 12, 2017
What do you do when presented with a new satellite image? Here's what the Earth Observatory team does to understand the view.
Published Nov 18, 2013
As green chlorophyll fades from trees and plants each autumn, other pigments color Earth’s landscapes. Satellites take leaf-peeping to a whole new level.
Published Oct 26, 2021
Summer is beach season in the northern hemisphere. But even if you're a regular at your local swimming hole, you probably haven't seen too many beaches from this perspective. See the satellite and space-station views of various shorelines from across the United States. No sunblock necessary.
Published Jul 22, 2021
These maps depict how much hotter or cooler an ocean basin was compared to the long-term average. Temperature anomalies can indicate changes in ocean circulation or the arrival of patterns like El Niño and La Niña.
Clouds can be a nuisance when scientists are trying to observe features on Earth's surface. But at other times, clouds are exactly what they want to see. These images highlight some of the more unusual and beautiful clouds observed in recent years from space.
Published Jun 21, 2021
Sea salt, volcanic ash, dust, wildfire smoke, and industrial pollution are types of airborne aerosols. Natural aerosols tend to be larger than human-made aerosols. These maps show when and where aerosols come from nature, humans, or both.
Airborne aerosols can cause or prevent cloud formation and harm human health. These maps depict aerosol concentrations in the air based on how the tiny particles reflect or absorb visible and infrared light.
Since 1999, Earth Observatory has published images and stories from all over our planet. Now you can explore more than 11,000 images in a different way: by location.
Published Jun 2, 2021
