For the third time in a decade, the winner hails from the Canary Islands.
In the KwaZulu-Natal coastal province, heavy rainfall spurred deadly flooding and landslides.
Image of the Day Atmosphere Water Floods Severe Storms Human Presence Remote Sensing Landslides
Remote sensing could help experts monitor Nile hydrology as a new reservoir is filled.
Published Apr 20, 2022
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will boost electricity production and development in Ethiopia, but could have less desirable consequences for other users of Nile River water.
Published Apr 19, 2022
The SeaHawk satellite is both a throwback to a previous era and a glimpse of the future.
Published Apr 18, 2022
Your challenge this month has a new twist: tell us what you see.
Published Apr 17, 2022
One of Asia’s largest rivers carves the landscape and people carve a living from its floodplain.
Published Apr 17, 2022
Geological evidence shows the reef system has a history of demise and resilience.
Published Apr 16, 2022
Solar and wind farms now cover fields that were abandoned after the nuclear accident in 2011.
Published Apr 14, 2022
The landform is sustained by a steady supply of sediment from nearby bluffs.
Published Apr 13, 2022
The airborne particles engulfed parts of Iraq for multiple days in April 2022, turning skies orange, reducing visibility, and degrading air quality.
Published Apr 11, 2022
The Spanish port town is bathed in a colorful palette.
Published Apr 10, 2022
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.
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
A high-pressure region combined with a passing frontal system off the South African coast to create an eye-catching gap in the clouds.
Published Apr 9, 2022
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.
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.
Yet another extreme precipitation event sent rivers out of their banks, inundating coastal towns and prompting evacuations.
Published Apr 8, 2022Image of the Day Land Water Drought Fires Floods Severe Storms Human Presence Temperature Extremes
Most marine-terminating glaciers in the Northern Hemisphere are shrinking; some have completely left the water.
Published Apr 8, 2022
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
These 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.
How far can dust travel? Where does it come from? Explore the answers to these questions and make a model of how dust affects sky visibility in Dust a True World Traveler.
Published Mar 30, 2022
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.
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
NASA satellites document how our world—forests, oceans, human landscapes, even the Sun—changes over months, seasons, and years.
Published Apr 29, 2009
As green chlorophyll fades from trees and plants each autumn, other pigments color the Earth’s landscapes. Satellites take leaf-peeping to a whole new level.
Published Oct 26, 2021
12 months of high-resolution global true color satellite imagery.
Published Oct 13, 2005
Summer is beach season in the northern hemisphere. But even if you're a regular at your local swimming hole, you probably haven't seen too many beaches from this perspective. See the satellite and space-station views of various shorelines from across the United States. No sunblock necessary.
Published Jul 22, 2021
Clouds can be a nuisance when scientists are trying to observe features on Earth's surface. But at other times, clouds are exactly what they want to see. These images highlight some of the more unusual and beautiful clouds observed in recent years from space.
Published Jun 21, 2021
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.
Since 1999, Earth Observatory has published images and stories from all over our planet. Now you can explore more than 11,000 images in a different way: by location.
Published Jun 2, 2021
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 Apr 28, 2021
