Scientists are using the DSCOVR satellite to make more frequent measurements of the height of dust over the Atlantic Ocean.
A storm system that swept through the U.S. Southeast brought damaging winds, torrential rain, and destructive flash floods to several communities in the region.
What does AVUELO have in common with a Joni Mitchell song? The answer lies in the clouds.
Published Feb 19, 2025
Samples collected from Panama’s forest canopy are providing information that will ultimately be linked to remote sensing data.
Published Feb 18, 2025
The farms and gardens of Mount Vernon played a central role in the life of America’s first president.
Published Feb 17, 2025
Urban structures and the city’s Great Mosque stand out amid the hilly, desert landscape of western Saudi Arabia.
Published Feb 16, 2025
More and more, mountain snow in the Mount Everest region is vanishing into thin air.
Published Feb 15, 2025
A small island in Tonga built by an underwater volcano in 2022 has grown larger.
Published Feb 14, 2025
One frozen, one salty, and hemispheres apart, two very different lakes share a Valentine shape.
Published Feb 14, 2025
Warm, dry conditions in February 2025 fueled fast-burning fires in the northwestern part of the Australian state.
Published Feb 12, 2025
Strong winds and high temperatures fueled summer fires in Argentina.
Published Feb 11, 2025
Fieldwork in Panama is underway, as scientists began collecting airborne and ground-based data to aid studies of the region’s tropical ecosystems.
Published Feb 11, 2025
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
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.
When fuels such as coal, wood, and oil burn incompletely, they produce carbon monoxide. The gas is spread by winds and circulation. These maps show monthly averages of CO in the lower atmosphere.
Ocean temperatures can influence weather, such as hurricane formation, and climate patterns, such as El Niño. These maps show the temperature at the surface of the world’s seas and oceans.
NASA radar imagery revealed that the active area of a decades-old landslide has grown following periods of heavy rainfall in 2023 and early 2024.
Published Feb 10, 2025
The dormant volcano in northern Iran lies in the Alborz Mountains, which separate the region’s wet coastal lowlands from the deserts toward the south.
Published Feb 9, 2025
The white roof of the Superdome stands out against the surrounding neighborhoods in this satellite image of New Orleans.
Published Feb 8, 2025
Cool water has welled up in the tropical Pacific in winter 2024–2025. But it may not stick around for long.
Published Feb 7, 2025
Snow and ice influence 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.
Your challenge is to tell us the location of the satellite image and why it is interesting.
Published Jan 28, 2025
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
Hurricane season in the basin runs from June 1 to November 30.
Published Jul 1, 2024
People have developed systems to harvest and store energy from sources such as wind, sunlight, and tidal action. Many of these installations are visible from orbit.
Published May 10, 2024
NASA satellites document how our world—forests, oceans, human landscapes, even the Sun—changes over months, seasons, and years.
Published Apr 29, 2009
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.
Chlorophyll is used by algae and other phytoplankton--the grass of the sea--to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into sugars. These maps show chlorophyll concentrations in the ocean, revealing where phytoplankton are thriving.
12 months of high-resolution global true color satellite imagery.
Published Oct 13, 2005
From ground-level ozone to particulate matter to nitrogen dioxide, an array of gasses and particles can affect the air people breathe, with implications for human health.
Published Apr 8, 2024
Warmer-than-average temperatures are showing up locally and globally, with consequences for people, landscapes, and ecosystems.
Published Mar 26, 2024
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
Whether sparked by lightning, intentional land-clearing, or human-caused accidents, wildland fires are burning longer and more often in some areas as the world warms.
Published Feb 27, 2024
Warmer-than-average temperatures are showing up locally and globally, with consequences for people, landscapes, and ecosystems.
Published Aug 15, 2023
