An astronaut photographed the structure of a burgeoning cumulus congestus near the shore of the Persian Gulf.
Published Dec 21, 2024
The Cheleken Peninsula and its two parallel spits comprise the hammerhead-like landform that juts into the eastern Caspian Sea.
Published Dec 15, 2024
An astronaut’s sweeping nighttime photograph of Namibia and South Africa reveals the region’s lighted communities, many of which are centered around mining.
Published Dec 8, 2024
Perth, the only city along the country’s western coastline with more than 1 million people, displays widespread urban infrastructure alongside the Swan and Canning rivers.
Published Dec 1, 2024
Orange, yellow, and white lights span Chicago at night, illuminating its gridded downtown and tracing its sinuous rivers and parks.
Published Nov 24, 2024
The exceptionally long high-mountain glacier in Central Asia ranges from snowy white near the mountain peaks to dusty brown at lower elevations.
Published Nov 17, 2024
Windswept sand formations known as star dunes, or pyramid dunes, are a distinctive feature of the Sahara Desert in northern Africa.
Published Nov 10, 2024
Photographed from orbit at sunset, the rays of light penetrating gaps in the clouds span vast distances.
Published Nov 3, 2024
The volcano’s central peak, an island within an island, stands above a reflective, water-filled caldera.
Published Oct 27, 2024
The growing network of channels and islands now spans more than half of the estuary that was once open to ships.
Published Oct 20, 2024
River channels old and new wind across a floodplain in Burma (Myanmar), mingling with areas of agriculture and aquaculture.
Published Oct 13, 2024
A “dirty snowball” from the distant icy cloud encircling our solar system passed by the Sun and Earth in autumn 2024.
Published Oct 12, 2024
An astronaut photographed the atmospheric phenomenon, associated with lightning, during a stormy night over North America.
Published Oct 6, 2024
Reflected sunlight highlights the water’s surface and flooded zones near Gee’s Bend.
Published Sep 30, 2024
Lights in Chile’s central city display an array of colors and densities, reflecting various land uses and differences between the region’s communes.
Published Sep 22, 2024
China’s capital city boasts a diversity of structures, from its historic city center to the concentric roads and high-speed railway that surround it.
Published Sep 9, 2024
Urban and agricultural landscapes abut the U.S.–Mexico border in this part of the Sonoran Desert.
Published Aug 25, 2024
Mid-morning sunlight illuminated snow-covered farmland and cliffs along the Des Lacs River valley.
Published Aug 18, 2024
Bold hues paint the landscape around this Brazilian river.
Published Aug 4, 2024
From reflective snow and ice to the glowing towns along the Trans-Siberian Railway, nighttime near the world’s largest freshwater lake displays plenty of light.
Published Jul 28, 2024
Fifty-five years after our giant leap, scientists continue to learn about both the Moon and Earth from our celestial neighbor.
Published Jul 20, 2024
Flashes of light illuminated the textures of cloud tops during a nighttime storm over the region.
Published Jul 21, 2024
Erosion, tectonic uplift, and a human-built dam have all helped shape the Upper Lake Powell area in Utah.
Published Jul 14, 2024
The island is Australia's smallest state, but its mainland fills the frame of this astronaut photograph.
Published Jul 8, 2024
Flanked by mountains, the capital of the Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan lies along a sharp bend in a valley sculpted by the Kokcha River.
Published Jun 30, 2024
Uplift, erosion, and sea level rise all shape this part of Iran’s shoreline.
Published Jun 23, 2024
This U-shaped series of islets in the Indian Ocean rings a blue-green lagoon of varying depth.
Published Jun 16, 2024
Moonlit mountains and illuminated towns highlight geographic features on this sparsely populated Russian peninsula.
Published Jun 9, 2024
A former island and a desert are among the newcomers to the dry landscape following the lake’s rapid decline.
Published Jun 2, 2024
In central Asia, jagged mountain peaks rise high above the steppe.
Published May 26, 2024
