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A Small Blue-Gray Marble
Image of the Day Mar 12, 2025

A Small Blue-Gray Marble

A digital camera on the Blue Ghost lander looked back at Earth and captured this ethereal image.
March Puzzler
Earth Matters

March Puzzler

Your challenge is to tell us the location of the satellite image and why it is interesting.

Published Mar 11, 2025

Spotting Disruptions to Earth’s Vegetation
Image

Spotting Disruptions to Earth’s Vegetation

Using NASA data, researchers can track vegetation changes around the planet, not just in forests but also in grasslands and savannas like the Brazilian Cerrado.

Published Mar 11, 2025

Image of the Day Land Human Presence

A Bejeweled Plateau
Image

A Bejeweled Plateau

The turquoise waters of Ngangla Ringco add vivid color to the otherwise brown landscape in this part of the Tibetan Plateau.

Published Mar 9, 2025

Image of the Day Land

Iceberg Grinds to a Stop off South Georgia Island
Image

Iceberg Grinds to a Stop off South Georgia Island

Antarctic iceberg A-23A has slowed its drift and appears stuck in the shallow waters off the British overseas territory.

Published Mar 7, 2025

Image of the Day Snow and Ice

Storm Brings a Potpourri of Hazards to the U.S.
Image

Storm Brings a Potpourri of Hazards to the U.S.

A powerful mid-latitude storm fueled dust storms, tornadoes, blizzards, and downpours across the country.  

Published Mar 5, 2025

Image of the Day Atmosphere Land Dust and Haze

A Proliferation of Lakes on the Tibetan Plateau
Image

A Proliferation of Lakes on the Tibetan Plateau

Satellites have documented lakes on the “roof of the world” becoming larger and more numerous over the past three decades.

Published Mar 5, 2025

Image of the Day Land Water

Adventures and Preparing To Be On the Land
Notes from the Field

Adventures and Preparing To Be On the Land

"Leaf-to-orbit" activities began as the campers arrived in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

Published Mar 4, 2025

Mission: Biomes
Article

Mission: Biomes

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

Land Life

Fire Grows Unusually Large in Japan
Image

Fire Grows Unusually Large in Japan

Following a record dry month, a fire near Ofunato spread to become the country’s largest in decades.

Published Mar 3, 2025

Image of the Day Land Fires

Colorful Dust Over Mauritania
Image

Colorful Dust Over Mauritania

Airborne dust is common over the West African country, but its source can affect the appearance of plumes.

Published Mar 3, 2025

Image of the Day Land

Snowy South Georgia Island
Image

Snowy South Georgia Island

Penguins outnumber people on this remote, mountainous island in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

Published Mar 2, 2025

Image of the Day Snow and Ice

Summer Heat Wave in South America
Image

Summer Heat Wave in South America

February 2025 was a scorcher, with record temperatures in parts of Brazil and notable heat in Argentina.

Published Feb 28, 2025

Image of the Day Heat Drought Fires Floods Severe Storms Temperature Extremes

World of Change
Article

World of Change

NASA satellites document how our world—forests, oceans, human landscapes, even the Sun—changes over months, seasons, and years.

Published Apr 29, 2009

Atmosphere Heat Land Life Human Presence Snow and Ice

Cyclone Flurry in the Southern Hemisphere
Image

Cyclone Flurry in the Southern Hemisphere

An unusual number of tropical storms churned across the planet’s southern oceans simultaneously in February 2025.

Published Feb 27, 2025

Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat Water Drought Fires Floods Severe Storms Temperature Extremes

Sea Surface Temperature
Global Maps Jul 2002 — Jan 2025

Sea Surface Temperature

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.

Heat Water

Aerosol Size
Global Maps Jan 2005 — Sep 2016

Aerosol Size

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.

Atmosphere

Water Vapor
Global Maps Jul 2002 — Feb 2025

Water Vapor

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.

Atmosphere

A Colorful Scientific Homecoming
Notes from the Field

A Colorful Scientific Homecoming

After 31 years, scientist Joaquin Chaves returned to the Pacific coast of Costa Rica for another international expedition.

Published Feb 27, 2025

Water

Large Fire Footprint on Faraway Amsterdam Island
Image

Large Fire Footprint on Faraway Amsterdam Island

Wildfire burned through unique landscapes and disrupted scientific research on this remote island in the southern Indian Ocean.

Published Feb 26, 2025

Image of the Day Land Fires

Preparing for an On-The-Land Camp
Notes from the Field

Preparing for an On-The-Land Camp

A new camp in Canada’s Northwest Territories would allow youth to view wetland environments from a ‘leaf-to-orbit’ perspective.

Published Feb 25, 2025

February Puzzler
Earth Matters

February Puzzler

Your challenge is to tell us the location of the satellite image and why it is interesting.

Published Feb 25, 2025

Fire
Global Maps Mar 2000 — Feb 2025

Fire

Whether started by humans (farming, logging, or accidents) or by nature (lightning), fires are always burning somewhere on Earth. These maps show the locations of fires burning around the world each month.

Land

Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly
Global Maps Jun 2002 — Sep 2011

Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly

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.

Heat Water

Day 12: A Whirlwind Journey
Notes from the Field

Day 12: A Whirlwind Journey

AVUELO's many moving parts has made time fly by by for the campaign’s project scientist.

Published Feb 21, 2025

Waiting for Better Weather
Notes from the Field

Waiting for Better Weather

What does AVUELO have in common with a Joni Mitchell song? The answer lies in the clouds.

Published Feb 19, 2025

2024 North Atlantic Hurricane Season
Article

2024 North Atlantic Hurricane Season

Hurricane season in the basin runs from June 1 to November 30.

Published Jul 1, 2024

Atmosphere

Renewable and Alternative Energy
Article

Renewable and Alternative Energy

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

Land Human Presence

Earth at Night
Article

Earth at Night

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

Atmosphere Land Human Presence Remote Sensing

How to Interpret a Satellite Image: Five Tips and Strategies
Article

How to Interpret a Satellite Image: Five Tips and Strategies

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

Remote Sensing

Blue Marble Next Generation
Article

Blue Marble Next Generation

12 months of high-resolution global true color satellite imagery.

Published Oct 13, 2005

Atmosphere Land Water Snow and Ice

Air Quality
Article

Air Quality

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

Atmosphere Human Presence

Carbon Monoxide
Global Maps Mar 2000 — Oct 2024

Carbon Monoxide

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.

Atmosphere

Temperature Extremes 2024
Article

Temperature Extremes 2024

Warmer-than-average temperatures are showing up locally and globally, with consequences for people, landscapes, and ecosystems.

Published Mar 26, 2024

Heat

2024 Fires in the Northern Hemisphere
Article

2024 Fires in the Northern Hemisphere

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

Atmosphere Land Human Presence

Temperature Extremes 2023
Article

Temperature Extremes 2023

Warmer-than-average temperatures are showing up locally and globally, with consequences for people, landscapes, and ecosystems.

Published Aug 15, 2023

Heat