Breaking New Ground in Mekele   
Image of the Day Sep 6, 2025

Breaking New Ground in Mekele  

Researchers are using satellites to study development patterns in this fast-growing city in Ethiopia.
B.C. Wildfires Send Smoke Skyward
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B.C. Wildfires Send Smoke Skyward

Lightning likely ignited several large fires that sent smoke pouring over the Canadian province in early September 2025.

Published Sep 3, 2025

Image of the Day Land Fires

Assessing Landslide Hazards From Space
Notes from the Field

Assessing Landslide Hazards From Space

Scientists visited landslide sites in northern Nepal to better understand how satellite data can help predict these hazards and keep communities around the world safe.

Published Sep 3, 2025

Braided River in Tibet Redraws Its Channels
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Braided River in Tibet Redraws Its Channels

Images spanning nearly four decades reveal the shapeshifting nature of the Yarlung Zangbo River as it flows across the Tibetan Plateau.

Published Sep 3, 2025

Image of the Day Land Water Videos

Dark Skies Over the Great Basin
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Dark Skies Over the Great Basin

Far from large urban areas, Great Basin National Park offers unencumbered views of the night sky and opportunities to study distant stars and exoplanets.

Published Sep 2, 2025

Image of the Day Land

The First Labor Day Parade
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The First Labor Day Parade

New York City’s Manhattan Island was the site of the nation’s first Labor Day parade on September 5, 1882.

Published Sep 1, 2025

Image of the Day Human Presence

Haze Sweeps Over the Mediterranean
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Haze Sweeps Over the Mediterranean

An oblique photo from the International Space Station captured haze spilling from valleys in Italy and France and streaming south along the Italian peninsula.

Published Aug 31, 2025

Image of the Day Atmosphere Land

An Explosive Beginning for Lake Bosumtwi
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An Explosive Beginning for Lake Bosumtwi

An asteroid that struck the rainforest in Africa around 1 million years ago created Ghana’s only natural lake. 

Published Aug 30, 2025

Image of the Day Land

Hail Scars Alberta Farmland
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Hail Scars Alberta Farmland

A powerful supercell storm left a trail of damage spanning hundreds of kilometers southeast of Calgary, Canada.

Published Aug 28, 2025

Image of the Day Atmosphere Land

Rokan River Painted by the Tides
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Rokan River Painted by the Tides

Tides and sediment form brushstroke-like patterns across the river estuary in eastern Sumatra.

Published Aug 27, 2025

Image of the Day Land Water

Land Surface Temperature
Global Maps Feb 2000 — May 2025

Land Surface Temperature

Land surface temperatures rise and fall with the heat of the Sun, and they represent how hot or cold the surface would feel to touch. These maps show daytime land temperatures as measured from space.

Heat Land

Typhoon Kajiki Lashes Southeast Asia
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Typhoon Kajiki Lashes Southeast Asia

Late summer in the Northwest Pacific Ocean often sees an increase in storminess, which in August 2025 included a typhoon that lashed both China and Vietnam.

Published Aug 25, 2025

Image of the Day Severe Storms Remote Sensing

Aerosol Size
Global Maps Jan 2005 — Sep 2016

Aerosol Size

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.

Atmosphere

Kamchatka Peaks Pierce the Clouds
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Kamchatka Peaks Pierce the Clouds

The peninsula in eastern Siberia features rugged terrain with towering, snow-covered peaks and cloud-filled valleys stretching between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk.

Published Aug 24, 2025

Image of the Day Land

From Forest to Field in Pará
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From Forest to Field in Pará

The Santarém plateau in the northern Brazilian state displays a patchwork of cleared and uncleared land bordering a densely forested conservation area.

Published Aug 23, 2025

Image of the Day Land

August Puzzler
Earth Matters

August Puzzler

Your challenge is to tell us the location of the satellite image and why it is interesting.

Published Aug 19, 2025

Mission: Biomes
Article

Mission: Biomes

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

Land Life

Earth at Night
Article

Earth at Night

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

Atmosphere Land Human Presence Remote Sensing

How to Interpret a Satellite Image: Five Tips and Strategies
Article

How to Interpret a Satellite Image: Five Tips and Strategies

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

Remote Sensing

Vegetation
Global Maps Feb 2000 — May 2025

Vegetation

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.

Land Life

2024 North Atlantic Hurricane Season
Article

2024 North Atlantic Hurricane Season

Hurricane season in the basin runs from June 1 to November 30.

Published Jul 1, 2024

Atmosphere

Blue Marble Next Generation
Article

Blue Marble Next Generation

12 months of high-resolution global true color satellite imagery.

Published Oct 13, 2005

Atmosphere Land Water Snow and Ice

Renewable and Alternative Energy
Article

Renewable and Alternative Energy

People have developed systems to harvest and store energy from sources such as wind, sunlight, and tidal action. Many of these installations are visible from orbit.

Published May 10, 2024

Land Human Presence

Net Radiation
Global Maps Jul 2006 — Jul 2025

Net Radiation

Net radiation is the balance between incoming and outgoing energy at the top of the atmosphere. It is the total energy available to influence climate after light and heat are reflected, absorbed, or emitted by clouds and land.

Heat

Air Quality
Article

Air Quality

From ground-level ozone to particulate matter to nitrogen dioxide, an array of gasses and particles can affect the air people breathe, with implications for human health.

Published Apr 8, 2024

Atmosphere Human Presence

Snow Cover
Global Maps Mar 2000 — Jul 2025

Snow Cover

Snow and ice influence climate by reflecting sunlight back into space. When it melts, snow is a source of water for drinking and vegetation; too much snowmelt can lead to floods. These maps show average snow cover by month.

Snow and Ice

Temperature Extremes 2024
Article

Temperature Extremes 2024

Warmer-than-average temperatures are showing up locally and globally, with consequences for people, landscapes, and ecosystems.

Published Mar 26, 2024

Heat

2024 Fires in the Northern Hemisphere
Article

2024 Fires in the Northern Hemisphere

Whether sparked by lightning, intentional land-clearing, or human-caused accidents, wildland fires are burning longer and more often in some areas as the world warms.

Published Feb 27, 2024

Atmosphere Land Human Presence

World of Change
Article

World of Change

NASA satellites document how our world—forests, oceans, human landscapes, even the Sun—changes over months, seasons, and years.

Published Apr 29, 2009

Atmosphere Heat Land Life Human Presence Snow and Ice

Carbon Monoxide
Global Maps Mar 2000 — Oct 2024

Carbon Monoxide

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.

Atmosphere

Temperature Extremes 2023
Article

Temperature Extremes 2023

Warmer-than-average temperatures are showing up locally and globally, with consequences for people, landscapes, and ecosystems.

Published Aug 15, 2023

Heat