Ghost Forests Creep Into North Carolina

Bald cypress and other trees are becoming pale, leafless snags as storms, droughts, and sea level rise kill off coastal forests.

Image of the Day Land Water

Exploring Russia’s Krenitsyna Volcano

The volcano’s central peak, an island within an island, stands above a reflective, water-filled caldera.

Image of the Day Land Water

Petit Saut Reservoir

A dam along the Sinnamary River created this artificial lake in northern French Guiana.

Image of the Day Land Water

Majestic Color on the Michigan Mitten

Autumn color still clung to northern parts of the state in late October 2024.

Image of the Day Land

Today’s Glacial Retreat is a Recent Phenomenon

Alpine glaciers around the world were advancing as recently as 1990. Now they’re melting fast.

Image of the Day Snow and Ice

A Deluge for Roswell

The city in southeastern New Mexico received four times more rainfall in a day than it usually receives in a month.

Image of the Day Water Floods Human Presence

October Puzzler

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

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

Another Atmospheric River Hits British Columbia

A potent storm brought heavy rain and gusty winds to southwestern Canada and the U.S. state of Washington in October 2024.

Image of the Day Atmosphere Severe Storms

Water for a Desert Lake in Algeria

Scientists are studying the rare filling of Sebkha el Melah for clues about past—and possibly future—greening of the Sahara Desert.

Image of the Day Land Water

Madagascar’s Betsiboka River Delta

The growing network of channels and islands now spans more than half of the estuary that was once open to ships.

Image of the Day Water

Where Warehouses Are Built, Air Pollution Follows

New research shows that the presence of warehouses in the Los Angeles area is associated with higher levels of airborne particulate pollution.

Image of the Day Atmosphere Human Presence

Cloud Fraction

In addition to making rain and snow, clouds can have a warming or cooling influence depending on their altitude, type, and when they form. These maps show what fraction of an area was cloudy each month.

Atmosphere

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.

Land Life

Pyramid Lake in Bloom

Blooms of cyanobacteria develop in the brackish waters of this Nevada lake nearly every year.

Image of the Day Water Water Color

Last Stop: Tundra and Peatland Fires in the Northwest Territories

Researchers concluded their 2024 field season in the Canadian territory, where they collected measurements to aid studies of high-latitude wildland fires.

Heat

2024 North Atlantic Hurricane Season

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

Atmosphere

Fire

Whether started by humans (farming, logging, or accidents) or by nature (lightning), fires are always burning somewhere on Earth. These maps show the locations of fires burning around the world each month.

Land

Aerosol Optical Depth

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.

Atmosphere

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.

Atmosphere Land Human Presence Remote Sensing

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.

Land Human Presence

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.

Atmosphere Human Presence

Blue Marble Next Generation

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

Atmosphere Land Water Snow and Ice

Sea Surface Temperature

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.

Heat Water

Temperature Extremes 2024

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

Heat

Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly

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.

Heat Water

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.

Remote Sensing

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.

Atmosphere Land Human Presence

World of Change

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

Atmosphere Heat Land Life Human Presence Snow and Ice

Temperature Extremes 2023

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

Heat