Changing Ocean Colors

Bluer here, yellower there; here’s what scientists think is in store for the future color of Earth’s oceans.

All About That Tilt: Sun and Seasons

The seasons are changing–be it winter to spring, or summer to fall. Learn more about this change and how it’s all about that tilt.

Mining Peru’s Cerro de Pasco

The city’s economic engine is also a worrisome source of pollution.

Image of the Day Land Human Presence

Wet and Dry Morocco

Westerly winds from the Atlantic Ocean carry moisture into the region, but the Atlas Mountains act as a weather barrier between coastal grasslands and wetlands and the Sahara Desert.

Image of the Day Land Water

Late-Winter Storm Blasts the Great Plains

A quick drop in atmospheric pressure produced an intense storm with hurricane-force winds.

Image of the Day Atmosphere Severe Storms Snow and Ice Remote Sensing

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

The Carbon Cycle

Carbon flows between the atmosphere, land, and ocean in a cycle that encompasses nearly all life and sets the thermostat for Earth's climate. By burning fossil fuels, people are changing the carbon cycle with far-reaching consequences.

Atmosphere Land

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

Tropical Cyclone Idai Aims at Mozambique

The tracks of tropical cyclones in the Mozambique Channel often meander and loop.

Image of the Day Land Water Severe Storms

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

How the Smoke Rises

A satellite sensor is helping scientists understand where smoke is headed and what it means for those breathing it.

Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat Land Human Presence

Satellites Find Greener Pastures

Brazilian researchers are using satellites to calculate how many cattle can be supported by the country's pasturelands.

Image of the Day Land Life Human Presence

Tropical Cyclone Idai

Tropical Cyclone Idai is poised to move inland over East African countries already soaked with rain.

Land Water Severe Storms

Blue Marble Next Generation

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

Atmosphere Land Water Snow and Ice

Grand Canyon Under Snow

The Grand Canyon is one of the best known natural wonders on Earth, but astronauts see very different patterns compared with the iconic ground-based views.

Image of the Day Land

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

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

Jupiter or Earth?

Governed by the same laws of physics, very different planets display similar patterns.

Image of the Day Atmosphere Water

China’s Fields of Gold

In Luoping County, spring brings an explosion of canola flowers.

Image of the Day Land

Bringing a National Land Cover Monitoring System to Afghanistan

Creating a customized service for annual land cover mapping and change analysis in Afghanistan.

Fires Rage in Victoria

At least 380 small and large fires burned in the Australian state in the first week of March.

Image of the Day Land Floods Remote Sensing

Seaweed and Fish World

With floating villages, expansive seaweed farms, and hundreds of thousands of fish cages, Sansha Bay has one of the most extensive aquaculture operations in the world.

Image of the Day Water Human Presence Remote Sensing

Flooding on the Russian River

Another atmospheric river brought soaking rain to an area that was already saturated, leading to near-historic river crests in Sonoma County, California.

Image of the Day Severe Storms Remote Sensing

An Unusually Warm February in the United Kingdom

England, Scotland, and Wales all recorded their warmest winter day ever in February 2019.

Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat Land Human Presence

March Puzzler

Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what we are looking at and why it is interesting.

Fire on Mount Kenya

The fire raged on the slopes of Kenya’s highest mountain.

Land Fires

5 Stories from 5 Years of Precipitation Measurements from Space

In honor of the Global Precipitation Measurement mission's fifth anniversary, we're highlighting some of our favorite and most unique Earth Observatory stories related to the satellite--from farmers trying to increase crop yields to researchers predicting the spread of fires.

Water Snow and Ice

Savage South Georgia

The remote island may be inhospitable to humans, but it provides a home to major populations of wildlife.

Image of the Day Land Water

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

Cloudy Congo River Basin

Moisture and solar heating lead to interesting patterns in one of the cloudiest places on Earth.

Image of the Day Atmosphere Land Water

A Break in the Clouds for Europe

Europe stands out in satellite imagery as being one of the cloudiest continents—but not this week.

Image of the Day Atmosphere Land Human Presence

The Biggest Eruption of 2018 Was Not Where You Think

Kilauea dominated the headlines of western media, but remote Ambae in Vanuatu blew away other volcanic events.

Image of the Day Atmosphere Volcanoes Remote Sensing

Early Flooding Along the Mississippi

Heavy rains have caused major flooding in areas along the river, and forecasters say there's more to come.

Image of the Day Land Water Floods Human Presence

A Grand Centennial

NASA Earth Observatory has existed for just one-fifth the time of Grand Canyon National Park, but over those 20 years, satellites and astronauts have captured some magnificent views of the park from above.

New Satellite-Based Maps of Mangrove Heights

Mangrove forests are among the planet’s best carbon scrubbers.

Image of the Day Land Life Water

Fire Burns in Northern Italy

A fire on the slopes of Monte Pisano sent smoke billowing across the coast.

Land Fires Human Presence

Australia’s Disappearing Lakes Disappear Even More

The Menindee Lakes in New South Wales are facing extremely low water levels.

Image of the Day Water

Shiveluch Smokes Once Again

In mid-February 2019, the Kamchatkan volcano lofted ash plumes nearly 6 kilometers into the sky.

Volcanoes Remote Sensing

Waikoloa, Hawai’i

Ancient trails, aquaculture ponds, and quaint villages stand alongside old lava flows.

Image of the Day Land Human Presence

The Ozone Hole: Closing the Gap

After thinning at alarming rates in the 1980s and 90s, the ozone layer over Antarctica is starting to recover. Watch how ozone concentrations in the stratosphere have changed from 1979 through 2018.

Atmosphere Human Presence Remote Sensing World of Change Videos

Shrinking Aral Sea

Once the fourth-largest lake in the world, the Aral Sea has been slowly disappearing since the 1960s. View how the lake has shrunk over the past few decades.

Land Water Videos

Notes from the Field: VISIONS-2: Imaging Earth’s Portal to Space

NASA scientist Doug Rowland travels with his team to Svalbard, Norway, for the VISIONS-2 sounding rocket campaign. The team will launch two suborbital rockets in order to understand how the aurora heats the atmosphere and “boils” oxygen off into space.

Atmosphere Remote Sensing

Autumn Around the World

Here are eight places on Earth where the fall foliage wowed us.

Land Remote Sensing

Snow Cover

Snow and ice influences 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

A Season of Smoke

In summer 2018, wildfires across western North America disrupted the lives of millions. Smoke from some of the blazes was so pronounced it was visible from space.

Atmosphere Land Remote Sensing Videos