The Kumani Bank mud volcano in the Caspian Sea suddenly manifested an island in early 2023 that had nearly disappeared by the end of 2024.
A slow-moving storm dropped unusually large amounts of rain on the Australian state in summer 2025.
Cool water has welled up in the tropical Pacific in winter 2024–2025. But it may not stick around for long.
Published Feb 7, 2025Tucked away on a remote island in the Pacific, the volcano has recently been pinpointed as the likely source of a sunlight-dimming eruption.
Published Feb 5, 2025Water levels—and the compositions of brines—have varied over time at Searles Lake and the adjacent lakes.
Published Feb 4, 2025Evaporite minerals from Searles Lake have similarities to minerals found on the asteroid Bennu.
Published Feb 3, 2025Florida’s largest open-water estuary is known for its shallow, calm, blue-green waters.
Published Feb 2, 2025Warmer-than-usual weather brought melting and a lack of snowfall to parts of the state in winter 2024–2025.
Published Feb 1, 2025The buildup of vegetation and a rapid shift from wet to dry conditions played a role in the destructive blazes.
Published Jan 30, 2025Hot, dry, and windy weather fueled fires in two of Australia’s national parks.
Published Jan 29, 2025Airborne 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.
Toward the end of a late-January cold spell, snow and lake ice blanketed the landscape.
Published Jan 29, 2025When 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.
Your challenge is to tell us the location of the satellite image and why it is interesting.
Published Jan 28, 2025
NASA satellites document how our world—forests, oceans, human landscapes, even the Sun—changes over months, seasons, and years.
Published Apr 29, 200912 months of high-resolution global true color satellite imagery.
Published Oct 13, 2005Have 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, 2020On this Japanese island, fertile plains are sandwiched between mountain ranges that were mined for gold and silver.
Published Jan 28, 2025Winds lofted dust from the arid landscape across the Gulf of Oman.
Published Jan 24, 2025Seasonal Santa Ana winds helped fuel a large fire near Ensenada, Mexico.
Published Jan 24, 2025Hurricane season in the basin runs from June 1 to November 30.
Published Jul 1, 2024People 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, 2024What 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, 2013These 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.
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, 2017From 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, 2024These maps depict monthly total rainfall around the world. Rainfall is the primary source of fresh water for humans, plants, and animals. Rain also moves heat between the atmosphere, oceans, and land.
Warmer-than-average temperatures are showing up locally and globally, with consequences for people, landscapes, and ecosystems.
Published Mar 26, 2024Net 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.
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, 2024Warmer-than-average temperatures are showing up locally and globally, with consequences for people, landscapes, and ecosystems.
Published Aug 15, 2023These maps show the average amount of water vapor in a column of atmosphere by month. Water vapor is the key precursor for rain and snow and one of the most important greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.