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The average global temperature has increased by a little more than 1° Celsius (2° Fahrenheit) since 1880. Two-thirds of the warming has occurred since 1975.
In January 2020, plumes emanated from the young volcanic island.
MOSAiC expedition scientists prepare for research aboard an icebreaker, which has been frozen into the Arctic sea ice for about three months.
Published Jan 28, 2020 in Notes From the Field
Since its initial eruption, Taal remains on a level 4 alert, with a hazardous eruption still possible.
Published Jan 24, 2020 in Earth Matters
Bushfire counts dipped in mid-January when much-needed rainfall poured down on New South Wales and Victoria.
Published Jan 24, 2020Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat Land Drought Fires Remote Sensing
Once one of the poorest regions of Mexico, Cancún is now a bustling tourist city with millions of visitors each year.
Published Jan 23, 2020
In January 2020, a vast area of melt formed on the surface of the ice shelf west of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Published Jan 22, 2020
Low-level winds lifted ash lying on and around the volcano after its recent eruption.
Published Jan 22, 2020
Did you know that satellites can be used to find penguin populations by looking at what they leave behind? EO Kids is discovering more about penguins by looking at their poop from space.
Published Jan 22, 2020 in EO Kids
For much of the year, the salt pan is bone dry. But when the wet season brings abundant rains, the large, shallow basin becomes a temporary oasis.
Published Jan 21, 2020
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 Oct 5, 2000
The white landscape contrasts with the dark and colorful water, which at the time had very little ice cover.
Published Jan 21, 2020
Changing winds and more vegetation are probably contributing to the trend.
Published Jan 17, 2020
These maps depict anomalies in land surface temperatures (LSTs); that is, how much hotter or cooler a region was compared to the long-term average. LST anomalies can indicate heat waves or cold spells.
Astronaut Christina Koch snapped a picture of the Quadrantids in January 2020.
Published Jan 17, 2020
Astronauts captured a striking glimpse of the Andes Mountains, which divide lush forest from the Atacama Desert.
Published Jan 17, 2020
Industrialization has brought incredible societal advances and difficult pollution problems. From space, we can see skies clearing in some regions and darkening in others. The thin blue line of our atmosphere is still quite vulnerable.
Published Jun 24, 2014
Deception Island is one of the only places in the world where ships can sail directly into the center of an active volcano.
Published Jan 17, 2020
More jaw-dropping images of the extreme weather in Australia have come in from astronauts and satellites.
Published Jan 16, 2020 in Earth Matters
Afternoon thunderstorms are a typical phenomenon during summer in Western Australia.
Published Jan 16, 2020
The past five years have been the warmest of the past 140 years.
Published Jan 15, 2020Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat Land Water Human Presence Remote Sensing
In January 2020, three days of heavy rain led to flash floods across provinces in southern Iran.
Published Jan 15, 2020
These 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.
Following weeks of smoke, it was dust turning skies odd colors.
Published Jan 14, 2020
In January 2020, the volcano in the Philippines spewed lava and emitted hazardous amounts of volcanic ash fall and gases.
Published Jan 13, 2020
Sand dunes and outcrops add color and dimension across the Namib Sand Sea.
Published Jan 11, 2020
As satellites track Australian wildfire smoke from above, GLOBE Observer citizen scientists have been keeping tabs on hazy skies from the ground.
Published Jan 10, 2020 in Earth Matters
An astronaut captured this view of the Front Range, the San Juan Mountains, and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Published Jan 10, 2020
Skeiðarárjökull is known for flooding caused by volcanic eruptions underneath the ice.
Published Jan 10, 2020
Nearly one-third of the island appears to have burned.
Published Jan 9, 2020
Fires are burning so fiercely that they are lofting smoke to unusual heights.
Published Jan 9, 2020Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat Drought Fires Remote Sensing
Satellite observations show how far winds normally spread North African dust particles before rain and gravity pull them down to the ocean.
Published Jan 8, 2020
Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what we are looking at, where it is, and why it is interesting.
Published Jan 7, 2020 in Earth Matters
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.
12 months of high-resolution global true color satellite imagery.
Published Oct 13, 2005
In January 2020, Jakarta experienced its worst rainfall in more than a decade.
Published Jan 7, 2020
When it comes to getting around in Antarctica, McMurdo Station is like an off road testing facility of continental-sized proportions.
Published Jan 7, 2020 in Notes From the Field
At the boundary between Earth and space, particles and gases and energy do an intricate and colorful dance that varies daily.
Published Jan 6, 2020
As predicted, the weekend brought extreme fire weather.
Published Jan 6, 2020
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.
Geologically young, dark lava flows stand out from older, lighter rocks and the sands of the central Sahara.
Published Jan 3, 2020
The coolest thing about spending the New Year at the South Pole is the ceremony to place a geodetic benchmark on the geographic South Pole, or 90°S.
Published Jan 3, 2020 in Notes From the Field
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.
Scientists create maps of forest cover to understand where the composition and structure of Pacific Northwest forests are sufficient for the threatened species to nest and roost.
Published Jan 3, 2020
Scientists prepare for the third Antarctic traverse, where they will collect ground-based data to validate elevation measurements from NASA's ICESat-2 satellite.
Published Jan 2, 2020 in Notes From the Field
While everyone waits for the ball to drop in Times Square, scientists are working to send balloons up in Antarctica.
Published Dec 31, 2019 in Notes From the Field
2019 brought many memorable events on Planet Earth. Here are a few highlights from around the globe.
Published Dec 20, 2019
It measures about half the size of a football field and it is so small that you cannot see it on Google maps. This barren bit of rock off the coast of Canada has an unusual namesake: the Landsat 1 satellite. Hear about the discovery in the words of the woman who found it in satellite imagery.
Published Oct 23, 2019
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
In honor of our 20th anniversary, we offer a selection of some of the most beautiful, newsworthy, interesting, and scientifically important images from the past 20 years — one for each day of the calendar year.
Published Sep 24, 2019
NASA has a unique vantage point for observing the beauty and wonder of Earth and for making sense of it. The images in this book tell a story of a 4.5-billion-year-old planet where there is always something new to see.
Published Aug 28, 2019
