A heavy black plume of smoke streams southeast from Sendai, Japan, in this photo-like image from March 12, 2011. The smoke likely originated from a fire burning in an oil refinery in the wake of the massive earthquake that struck the city on March 11.
Acquired October 25, 2011, and November 13, 2008, these false-color images compare conditions around Thailand’s capital city, threatened by flooding in 2011.