Using remote sensing, researchers have developed a method to guide the state of Maryland’s tree-planting efforts.
Satellite data shows that Arctic sea ice likely reached its annual minimum extent on September 19, 2023.
Scientists have some ideas about what might have caused a thin arc that spanned a fjord in Western Greenland.
Published Sep 26, 2023
Cities and towns darkened after a cyclone unleashed torrential flooding along the country’s coast.
Published Sep 25, 2023
Southeastern Ethiopia’s longest river supports the growth of green vegetation amid the otherwise brown, desert landscape.
Published Sep 24, 2023
Teams monitor weather and ground conditions in Utah’s West Desert, where a capsule containing a piece of space rock is expected to land.
Published Sep 23, 2023
Intense fires and a passing cold front led to the sprawling feature.
Published Sep 22, 2023
Flash floods in the port city destroyed roads and swept neighborhoods out to sea.
Published Sep 20, 2023
Communities in the High Atlas Mountains were among the hardest hit after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake caused widespread damage.
Published Sep 20, 2023
Your challenge is to tell us the location of the satellite image and why it is interesting.
Published Sep 19, 2023
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.
The estuarine inlets of Spain’s Galicia coast are some of the most productive places to grow mussels.
Published Sep 19, 2023
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.
12 months of high-resolution global true color satellite imagery.
Published Oct 13, 2005
Unusual late-season melting in Greenland turned the glacier’s surface into a mishmash of ice, firn, melt, and dirt.
Published Sep 18, 2023
The icy landscape high in the Andes is dotted with colorful glacial lakes and weathered rock.
Published Sep 17, 2023
Net radiation is the balance between incoming and outgoing energy at the top of the atmosphere. It is the total energy available to influence climate after light and heat are reflected, absorbed, or emitted by clouds and land.
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.
The drought in Chile isn’t over, but recent late-winter rains provided enough moisture for water to start pooling up again.
Published Sep 16, 2023
June, July, and August were 0.23°C (0.41°F) warmer than any other summer in NASA’s record.
Published Sep 14, 2023
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.
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.
Scientists returned to central Alaska's boreal forests to measure plant activity during the peak of summer.
Published Sep 12, 2023
Warmer-than-average temperatures are showing up locally and globally, with consequences for people, landscapes, and ecosystems.
Published Aug 15, 2023
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
The 2023 season runs from June 1 to November 30, with peak activity generally occurring in September.
Published Jun 1, 2023
Wildland fires in 2023 brought hazy skies and poor air quality to several countries north of the equator.
Published May 22, 2023
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
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
From soil conditions to crop productivity, satellite data help inform farmers, scientists, and decision-makers in the U.S. and around the world.
Published Feb 28, 2023
Over the years, astronauts aboard the orbiting laboratory have snapped spectacular photographs of Earth’s snow and ice in both hemispheres.
Published Dec 21, 2022
In honor of our site anniversary, we offer a selection of some of the most beautiful, newsworthy, interesting, and scientifically important images from 23 years online — one image for each day of the calendar year.
Published Apr 26, 2022
