Suggested Searches

Earth Observatory Banner

Earth's Atmosphere

Atmosphere Sub-topics

Date Range

Fire Cloud With a Pileus on Top
4 min read

Scientists captured rare observations of an ephemeral pileus cloud hovering over a smoke-infused cloud that rose above a wildfire in…

Sep 29, 2026
Cloudy Cloak Over the Northwest
2 min read

A low-lying cloud layer brought autumn ambience to western Washington and Oregon, while mountainous areas near the coast remained above…

Sep 24, 2026
Dust Storm Sweeps Over Mali
2 min read

At a time of year when dust storm activity winds down, a plume of dust blanketed parts of the West…

Sep 10, 2026
A Bright Spot at Mount Michael
3 min read

With austral winter nearing its end, clouds cleared for a satellite view of volcanic activity in the remote South Atlantic.

Sep 7, 2026
A Trio of Tropical Cyclones in the Pacific
4 min read

The Pacific was buzzing with storms while the Atlantic was notably quiet.

Sep 4, 2026
Chasing Fire Clouds in Utah
6 min read

NASA aircraft are sampling smoke lofted high into the atmosphere by one of the most formidable cloud types in the…

Aug 17, 2026
Sensing the Poles’ Hidden Heat
3 min read

New animations from NASA's PREFIRE mission reveal two years of seasonal temperature swings at the Arctic and Antarctic.

Aug 7, 2026
A Week of Smoky Skies Across North America
3 min read

Brown carbon, emitted by wildland fires and tracked over the span of a week in July 2026, worsened air quality…

Jul 22, 2026
Ontario Wildfire Smoke Moves East
3 min read

Canadian wildfires sent plumes of smoke streaming over Ontario, Quebec, and parts of the U.S. Midwest and Northeast.

Jul 16, 2026
Air Pollution’s Daily Pulse Over the Northeast
5 min read

The TEMPO mission helped scientists track morning nitrogen dioxide that contributed to afternoon ozone along the New York–Washington corridor in…

Jun 11, 2026
A Moonlit Earth as Seen From Artemis II
4 min read

An astronaut’s photo, taken en route to the Moon, reveals our planet and its place in space in a novel…

Jun 4, 2026
Gravity Waves From Super Typhoon Sinlaku
4 min read

Satellites observed striking upper-atmosphere phenomena generated by an intensifying tropical cyclone.

Jun 1, 2026
Great Balls of Fire
4 min read

An astronaut on the International Space Station was surprised to photograph a shower of light streaking through the darkness while…

May 18, 2026
Australia’s Cloudy Beauty
3 min read

Valley fog gathered in the Victorian Alps while an arch-shaped cloud drifted across Port Phillip Bay.

May 12, 2026
A Sea of Spinning Clouds
3 min read

Icy, isolated Peter I Island stirred up a show in the atmosphere off the West Antarctic coast.

May 7, 2026
Winter’s End Is Written in the Clouds
3 min read

As winter turned to spring, the skies over the Gulf of Alaska displayed textbook examples of numerous cloud formations.

Apr 30, 2026
Smoke Shrouds Northern Thailand
3 min read

Seasonal fires have darkened skies over Southeast Asia.

Apr 23, 2026
Spring Rains Saturate Michigan
3 min read

Above-normal precipitation has swollen rivers and damaged infrastructure statewide.

Apr 17, 2026