Three thick layers of cake and frosting sat atop Jeff Schmaltz’s kitchen counter. The programmer had completed a 3-D model of a GIBS tile pyramid; it was his entry into a collegial science bake-off at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. But there was more to this cake than flour and eggs and sugar. If you have ever browsed […]
Study: Major Middle East Dust Storm in 2015 Was Due to the Weather, Not Human Conflict
A new analysis of satellite suggests the key causes of a major dust storm in 2015 were climate and weather conditions — not the war in Syria.
Something Swirling in the Sea
Milky blue swirls in the Bering Sea stem from Alaska's Bogoslof Island, which has been erupting since mid-December 2016.
Waiter, There’s Salt in My Lake
In some parts of the world, saline lakes are common features. Take, for instance, the image below, from our January 2017 article about fires in Argentina. But saline lakes are an environment unto themselves. Lakes cover about 4 percent of the Earth’s land surface. Many of the largest ones (by area) are salty: Utah’s Great Salt […]
An Astronaut and a Gentleman
I came to know Piers Sellers mostly through his words and in the ways he inspired people. The more I read, the more I wish I had been able to spend more time with him.
January Puzzler
Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The January 2017 puzzler is above. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what part of the world we are looking at, when the image was acquired, what the image shows, and why the scene is interesting. How to answer. Your answer can be […]
Let It Snow: Winter 2016
Eighty five years ago today, Wilson Alwyn Bentley died of pneumonia. It was December 23, 1931, and outside his home in Jericho, Vermont, the sky was ripe for snow. His final diary entry read: “Cold north wind afternoon. Snow Flying.” It was the sort of weather he had lived for. Bentley began to observe snow […]
Reader Question: Does CO2 Disperse Evenly Around the Earth?
A reader recently wrote to ask us about our November 17 article: “Satellite Detects Human Contribution to Atmospheric CO2.” “Hello, I read on the site that CO2 concentrations are higher in some areas and lower in others. Is the reason for this that the higher zones are near CO2 sources such as heavily populated areas? […]
What on Earth is an Anaglyph?
The science team behind the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) on NASA’s Terra satellite frequently publishes special images called stereo anaglyphs. For example, you might have seen our recent series of anaglyphs celebrating the centennial of the National Park Service. But what exactly is an anaglyph, and how is one made from MISR data? All methods of viewing […]