Search the Earth Observatory

The violent storm aimed at the U.S. Northern Mariana Islands and Guam in mid-April 2026.

Antarctic Iceberg A-23A’s journey ends in fragmentation in the South Atlantic Ocean, after a 40-year lifespan documented by satellites.

An early autumn storm left higher elevations in southern Argentina with a fresh and fleeting coat of white.

A massive, old caldera and more recently formed craters shape the landscape in the eastern Sierra Nevada.

The state was unusually dry for much of 2025, but the intensity of the drought has ratcheted up since January 2026.

Scientists pioneered a new system that combines data from multiple Earth-observing satellites to identify forest clearing up to 100 days earlier than current methods.

Patches of open water in the region contributed to low sea ice extent across the Arctic in March 2026, which tied with the lowest maximum observed in the satellite record.

The February 2026 eruption at Piton de la Fournaise has lasted longer and produced a larger volume of lava than recent eruptions from this frequently active volcano.

Strong winds in March 2026 carried Saharan dust across northwestern Africa and toward the Canary Islands, reducing visibility and prompting alerts.

Dry, warm, and windy conditions across the U.S. Great Plains led to extreme fire activity in March 2026.

A network of meltwater lakes and drainage channels made an Antarctic ice shelf known for its blue ice areas even bluer.

The activity of herring around Vancouver Island in British Columbia brightened coastal waters enough to be detectable from space.

Temperatures in several states climbed over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in March 2026, which in some places was the highest March temperature on record.

Back-to-back subtropical cyclones in March fueled destructive flash flooding on several of the Hawaiian Islands.

The powerful storm lashed the northern edge of the continent with damaging winds and drenching rain as it made landfall multiple times.

Plains around the San Andreas Fault and across Carrizo Plain National Monument are awash with yellow as wildflowers bloom.

Episode 43 of the Hawaiian volcano’s current eruption was marked by high lava fountains and widespread ash dispersal.

Abundant rainfall in February and March 2026 transformed the desert landscape of Central Australia.

An advancing cold front kicked up a sharp line of sand and other small particles that swept over the high plains.

Ireland is best known for its many greens, but the striking grays of the island's Burren region also stand out in satellite images.

During the 2022 summer melt season, sediment plumes and fractured sea ice traced swirling eddies in a branch of the Nansen Sound fjord system in the Canadian Arctic.

Activity at the volcano in the Philippines sent lava and pyroclastic flows down the volcano’s flanks and prompted evacuations in nearby communities.

Clouds of dust lofted from the Sahara Desert brought hazy skies and muddy rain to Western Europe.

Lake Unter-See in Antarctica, sealed beneath thick ice, has unusual water chemistry and cone-shaped microbial structures resembling some of Earth’s oldest fossils.

A series of nighttime satellite images revealed how moonlight reaching Earth varied throughout a total lunar eclipse.

Set amid El Salvador’s modern, active volcanic landscape, tranquil blue waters fill a caldera formed by ancient eruptions.

As Iceberg A-23A disintegrated, it shed meltwater that helped fuel an extensive phytoplankton bloom in the South Atlantic Ocean.

A NASA luminary from the Apollo era grew up in Wales near Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

Oklahoma’s Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge attracts rare and diverse species—and enthusiasts looking for a distinct type of crystallized gypsum.

The National fire has burned tens of thousands of acres within the Florida preserve, fueled by vegetation dried by prolonged drought and killed by recent frost.

The hill-shaped features are a sign of explosive volcanic activity—a rarity on the Red Planet.

Nearly 50 years ago, the first Landsat satellite captured the rare sight of Mid-Atlantic waterways frozen over.

Villages and farmland were swamped after unusually heavy early-February rains pushed the Sinú River over its banks.

Satellite-based radar images show where a powerful earthquake in the Yukon, Canada, sent rock, snow, and ice spilling across the frozen landscapes of the St. Elias Mountains.

Winds blowing past the volcanic landmass near the Korean Peninsula created a trail of spiraling clouds, while murky water churned nearby.

A cold snap in the southern U.S. stirred up a dazzling display of sediment in coastal waters.

Dry, gusty conditions spurred fast-growing fires in Oklahoma and Kansas, along with dangerous dust storms across the region.

A vivid display of the aurora lit up skies over the Denmark Strait and eastern Canada during a minor geomagnetic storm in February 2026.

Widespread flooding affected tens of thousands of people after cyclones Fytia and Gezani drenched the island.

The Tongan volcano expanded its mid-Pacific real estate during its latest eruptive phase.

George Washington was born along this tidal creek in Virginia and, as a teenager, made one of his first surveying maps of the surrounding lands.

The glacier in southeastern Svalbard pulses with the changing seasons, speeding up and slowing its flow toward the sea.

Cortina d'Ampezzo, flanked by steep-sided mountain peaks, is the site of several skiing and sliding events in the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

January brought blistering extremes Down Under as record temperatures scorched the nation’s southeast.

The country's northern regions are accustomed to snow, but unrelenting storms have snarled transportation and caused other challenges this winter.

A dusting of white highlighted the Colorado Plateau around the deep gorge, while shadows created a visual illusion.

In late January 2026, a strong, moisture-laden storm dropped snow across nearly the entire state, spanning from the Appalachians to the Atlantic Coast.

About 2,900 Olympic athletes have converged on northern Italy to sort out who is the GOAT—or perhaps the stoat.

Ice in the Hudson River hugged the shore of Manhattan amid a deep freeze.