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Earth Observatory Image of the Day

NASA's view of the Earth from the Earth Observatory.

This U-shaped series of islets in the Indian Ocean rings a blue-green lagoon of varying depth. View the full story

The atoll is in a U shape with the large break being to the upper left corner of the image despite there being a significant island at that end (Horsburgh) the depth drops off on that end as clearly indicated by the appearance of the water changing from reflecting the sandy bottom through the shallows at the bottom of the U to gradually more turquoise before becoming uniform to the surrounding deep ocean.

Life finds ways to survive on this small volcanic island chain that’s way off the beaten path. View the full...

The image centers on a snow covered peak of a single fairly uniform circle of an island. The vast majority of the island is covered in foliage, the upper ring elevation just below the snowline is a lighter shade of green than that closer to the coast which appears a much deeper darker shade. The island shows a plateau along the coast in the upper left where the human population seems to have settled.

Drought helped spread intense, early-season blazes in one of the world’s largest wetlands. Read the full story

Drought helped spread intense, early-season blazes in one of the world’s largest wetlands.

Moisture-laden tropical air brought intense downpours and flooding to the southern part of the state. Read the full story

Moisture-laden tropical air brought intense downpours and flooding to the southern part of the state.

Ice fragments from Greenland and the Arctic form elaborate swirls as they are swept south. Read the full story

Ice fragments from Greenland and the Arctic form elaborate swirls as they are swept south.

An early summer heat wave broke temperature records in Nevada, Arizona, and California in June 2024. View the full story

Satellite image cutout of the Southwest United States and Northwest Mexico with state borders superimposed in white. The image is color coded from a pale blue to deep, near-black shade of red. The entire map appears to be on the red shade of the spectrum, with the lightest showing light yellow at the peak of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. The deepest reds run through the California Valley and expand further inland as the valley gives way to mountains at the south. Deep blackish reds blanket phoenix and Las Vegas, with New Mexico and Texas appearing primarily in dark shades as well.

Dry weather is putting extra strain on the systems that deliver water to Mexico City. View the full story

The blue-green water of the reservoir, centered in this image, has shrunk as formerly submerged lakebed appears around the reservoir. It is particularly noticable in the upper right and lower left of the image, where a population center stretches piers to the water an inordinately long distance from the road and population center.

Moonlit mountains and illuminated towns highlight geographic features on this sparsely populated Russian peninsula. View the full story

In this grayscale image the valley broadens from a narrow point in the top left to a cone that spans the center of the right edge to the lower bottom right. The lighting of a town can be vividly seen as white against the backdrop of craggy landscape filled with valleys leading to the low center where the Kamchatka river appears completely dark. The land surrounding this valley seems to be completely blacked out.

The remote archipelago is flanked by extensive coral reef areas, but these hubs of biodiversity face a summer of sweltering...

The satellite image centers Culebra Island surrounded by deep blue ocean. there are three significantly sized surrounding islands one to the center left of the image, two to the right, positioned at the center and upper portion of the image. The two islands to the right extend a coral reef that wraps around the shape of the island at a relatively consistent distance from the shore. The island itself shows one major outpost of civilization centered at the end of the mouth of the bay.

Venezuela is the first postglacial nation in the Andes, as its last substantial patch of ice is now considered too...

The land depicted by satellite image is mostly bare brown rock, however, in the center right and center left are areas where there has been past glacial activity and the rock appears eroded and more bright in shade. in both the top left and bottom right of the image foliage is apparent as the land fades from brown to green.

Strong winds and ample fuel helped spread flames over 14,000 acres of grassland in San Joaquin County. View the full...

along the left side of a Freeway which runs diagonally across the image from upper left to lower center right hilly or mountainous terrain runs parallel. A patch of that hillside in the lower central, appears thoroughly black. there are some patches of untouched land with the burn scar but it seems to stop fairly uniformly, possibly at the geological feature of a crest of land. to the upper and right portion of the image is largely green farm fields separated out in gridded patterns.

Emissions of the potent greenhouse gas may be higher than previously thought, especially from landfills. View the full story

A satellite viewpoint of the United States in black with state outline overlays has a pixelated colorscale overlay indicating how much methane was released in a given area that ranges from black or dark brown into brassier colors until you reach white. While most of the map is a very dark shade, indicating little methane emissions, there are a few spots on the map that range into, or very nearly reach a white coloration. The two most significant of these white spots in size and lightness are in Texas Eastern and Western Borders. Other large population centers also show elevated levels such as the California Valley and Bay Area.

A volcanic fissure on the Reykjanes peninsula came alive again with voluminous, vigorous flows. View the full story

Satellite image of Reykjanes with infrared overlay to highlight the lavaflow shows two flow origins in a bright white with lava rivers coming from each. The land immediately surrounding this lava flow is dark black from previous lava flows. Clouds occupy the top center and right of the image and ocean the lower portion of the image with a population center on the coast.

This map reveals the depth of floodwater that covered Rio Grande do Sul in May 2024. View the full story

Satellite image shown in false color. the land and broader sea are grayscale, with the Jacuí and surrounding floodplains shown in a scale of blue from near white to a navy blue, the darker the color the deeper the water in meters. The River runs left to right with a few contributing tributaries coming down to the river from the top of the image and at their center runs a dark blue channel that are the ordinary banks for the river, however, near the mouth there is a zoomed in section of the image showing how expansive and deep sections of the flooding have become.

A former island and a desert are among the newcomers to the dry landscape following the lake’s rapid decline. View...

This image of the desert from space shows a few seemingly small bodies of water in a sea of gray and beige landscape. At the center left edge of the image is a longitudinal body of water labeled the South Aral Sea. It extends to the top middle left of the image and is quite narrow. Two small pools exist between this and the North Aral Sea in the upper right, which is blue green in color and is primarily composed of three connected rounded pools. At a right angle to both the land appears gray and aberrant from the surrounding desert sands.

In Puerto Rico, corals, seagrass, and mangroves paint a colorful Caribbean scene by day, while the waters of a rare...

In this satellite image a group of fringing and patch reefs runs parallel to the shore. Mangrove trees, which appear dark green, line the coast and dot some of the coral islands. Seagrass beds extend offshore from the mangroves and on the lee side of linear reefs. Signs of these tropical marine ecosystems are visible in this image. The color of the water varies from turquoise near these reefs to an average blue.

Researchers are using satellites to track a spreading trend in agriculture—the use of greenhouses. View the full story

Land centering around a streak of green that make up the banks of the Mihe River, which runs between the top center right of the image to the bottom center left of the image, is almost entirely gray, the color of a greenhouse from satellite images. on the outermost perimeters of the image there are smatterings of green, but some small pockets of greenhouses as well.

The destructive tornado destroyed homes, downed wind turbines and power lines, snapped trees, and shredded roofs. View the full story

Satellite image of a town centers the image surrounded by gridded roads and farmland in dark green and brown. Diagonally from the bottom left into the town a faint discoloration of the landscape is visible which becomes pronounced when it intersects the town where the green yards and fields are discolored significantly with light brown dust and debris from the destruction. The town is zoomed in on via in a square superimposed over the lower right of the image.

The nutrient-loaded Northern California lake turned green with algal growth in spring 2024. View the full story

Surrounded by a mixture of green landscape and dry landscape is Clear Lake, which appears a vibrant light green. The lake has a peninsula jutting into the side of it from the bottom of the image, from that point the lake stretches into two more longitudinal legs to the bottom right, and to the left is the majority of the surface area of the lake, more open and rounded, stretching up to the left. Below and this section farm land is discernable and to the left or the lake is a notable population center. Another population center is at the bottom right, and there are some smaller ones scattered around the coastline.

Everything’s bigger in Canada’s Wood Buffalo National Park, where unique wildlife, plains, wetlands, and animal-engineered landscapes all exist on a...

Satellite image of forested land. in the lower right a brown water Lake Claire exists, The peace river in the lower middled meanders from the lower middle right to the lower left another unnamed brown water lake exists in the top left. Other bodies of water appear, also largely in the upper left, scattered and much smaller, but also appear extremely dark in color

In central Asia, jagged mountain peaks rise high above the steppe. View the full story

Mountain peaks span the entire bottom of the image, but also reached the upper right of the image in a steady diagonal. The lower portion of mountains appear bright white, illuminated by the sun, but cast a shadow on most of the rest of the mountains as well as the snow covered plain above.

President Lyndon Johnson recognized this small town in upstate New York for being among the first to celebrate Memorial Day....

Two dark colored longitudinal lakes break up the landscape of gridded green and brown fields, most likely for farming. Between the two at the bottom of the image is a darker single large square that is the Army Depot. A river connects the two lakes at the top end of them both. Along that river is notable signs of populace concentrations, including Waterloo halfway down the river.

Braided rivers, landslide debris, and alluvial fans are spread across this dynamic landscape in Glacier Bay National Park. View the...

Deep dark green forest surrounds a bright turquoise blue waters that make up Adam's Inlet, which is filled with random deposition peaks from former glacial activity that are also now covered in deep green foliage. The surrounding mountain valley's are full of a bright color sediment deposited by erosion of glaciers, rain, and meltwater. A very large sediment river empties into the inlet from the top of the image, from the bottom a smaller one creates a classic alluvial fan deposit formation in the inlet, and is already being claimed by foliage.

The Brunt Ice Shelf lost a large wedge of floating ice, the third sizeable iceberg to calve from the shelf...

Mostly orange colored ocean water is seen left with light to dark blue ice depicted right. The boundary between them is primarily a diagonal from top center right to lower left. The water nearest the ice takes on a more yellow color than the darker sea to the left, and it cuts down into the ice shelf at a steep angle just below the image top center. The gap between the ice bodies then takes a more narrow 90 degree turn and reconnects to open ocean near the bottom left, creating full separation and an iceberg that is just beginning to depart the ice shelf.

Destructive winds left many people in the most populous city in Texas without power. View the full story

A night satellite image of greater Houston shows sprawling grids of major roadways brightly illuminated. However, there are pockets of darkness within what are highly populated areas that should be accordingly illuminated.

Contrasting colors of lava and ash reveal the geologic origins of Harrat Khaybar’s volcanic cones. View the full story

This satellite image shows numerous lava fields the general landscape is a dark brown with veins of lighter color, likely caused by erosion over the decades. The land is also pock marked with craters, at the top of the image the lavaflow leaves a distinctly black rock, and butted right below that is a light beige volcanic deposit, creating significant contrast. down and too the right there continue to be more craters and deposits is a more neutral brown color, but there is another, but more eroded black lava flow toward the bottom of the image

Strong winds kicked up sand and dust from China’s vast Taklimakan Desert. View the full story

Satellite image of the light tan, nearly off-white, Tarim basin. There are some small lakes in the mountainous region seen lower right and those mountains span center right to lower left, speckled with snow and ice. In the top left there appears to be either ice or wispy cloud cover.

Large tidal swings expose a plateau-shaped reef around Australia’s Yawajaba island at low tide. View the full story

An island centers in the image, with clearly defined sandy shores in the bright blue Indian Ocean. However, there is a dark ring created by a reef around the island, some bright sand peaks above the water. There is also a sandbar going up the left side of the image.

Farmers grow a variety of crops along river floodplains near Lyon. View the full story

The Rhône River skirts the perimeter of the image and is joined by the Ain River near the bottom of the scene. The Rhône River appears dark blue, while the Ain River has a brown hue due to its higher concentration of suspended sediment. The river floodplains include meander scars and oxbow cutoffs, several of which are filled with dark green vegetation. Angular agricultural fields range from tan to green and vary in color due to primary crops, such as wheat, barley, rapeseed, corn, and sunflowers. Reddish agricultural plots indicate recent planting or tilling.

Ancient hominin fossils lie beneath the sandy soils on the outskirts of this village in southern Spain. View the full...

Satellite photo of largely dry light brown sandy Spain. A river runs from the middle left to the middle right side of the image and the land through this area is darker. A small dark patch of land is seen center left and bottom right there is another dark patch.

For the second year in a row, California’s largest reservoir filled to nearly 100 percent capacity. View the full story

The lush green landscape around Lake Shasta gives way to the numerous flooded valleys that constitute the lake.

Space scientists and sky-watchers were treated to a stunning display of the northern lights in May 2024. View the full...

A nighttime satellite view of the United states, with state boundary overlays, centering the Iowa-Nebraska-Missourri border. The illumination of major city lights can be seen, most prominently Chicago in the upper middle right of the image. Just North of that you can see the densest part of a white haze that constitutes the Aurora can be seen. It spans the width of the image and is brightest on the far left over Montana. The belt of light curves steadily over the more northern US states with swirls of higher density.

Satellites captured an expansive blue and green phytoplankton bloom in the waters off France. View the full story

Centered in the image is a disorganized patch of light blue and green color in the dark surrounding ocean. Some slight swirling within the colorful area is visible, thin windswept clouds are scattered primarily in the lower left and the mid and upper right. on the right side of the image is a bit of landmass, France, that seems to be largely green, but polka dotted with yellows throughout.

Unusually early and intense fires are spreading rapidly amid drought and high winds. View the full story

Satellite photo of a deep green landscape. The top right corner is mostly covered by a patchwork of small altocumulus clouds, the land showing between not significant enough to make any discernable insights. A much smaller patch of similar clouds are also found in the lower left. Streaked between the two patches of clouds is a significant amount of smoke, discernable origin points near the top left, mid center left where Fort Nelson is, and lower center. The smoke is blown to the right of the image and the origin points are opaque, but the bottom right appears somewhat translucent and imparts a somewhat blue hue to the ground seen below.

Michigan’s Ludington Pumped Storage Plant uses excess electricity to pump water uphill, which generates power when it flows back down....

Lake Michigan is shown left in a rich blue and the state of Michigan is shown left. The land appears to largely be farmland in gridded fields, but most notably just barely inland from the coasts is an oblong lake stretched top to bottom parallel to lake Michigan. The two lakes are joined by a dam. The Natural coastline of Michigan is disturbed by a carveout for the dam outflow with a thin line of the breakwater visible in the lake directly in front of the dam

Torrential rains have unleashed widespread and destructive flooding in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s southernmost state. View the full story

The Jacui River at Rio Grande do Sul shows the already wide river banks being breeched by the rivers mocha brown waters. Within the river banks numerous islands in the river's delta now appear as only river bars. The main city shows roadway between rooftops the same color as the river unlike further inland where roads between homes appear dark from asphalt. The Salgado Filho International Airport field has disappeared entirely beneath the floodwaters.

NASA’s newest Earth science satellite captured a striking image of swirling bands of phytoplankton. View the full story

Satellite view of the Gulf of Oman and surrounding land. The land is all a shade of brown, ranging from reddish, to khaki to a non-descript light brown. The water of the gulf of oman is completely green in this image, at it's most dense it is a forest green color. To the northwest the Persian Gulf waters that feed the Gulf of Oman start to show a light shade of greening near the Strait of Hormuz. As the Gulf of Oman opens up into the Indian Ocean the shade of green lightens and disperses into vibrant blue waters in a series of eddies. Greening can also be seen along much of the included coastline away from the gulf as well. Some light cirrus clouds can be seen with the densest surrounding the Persian Gulf in the top left corner.

A May storm dumped over two feet of snow in one day on parts of the California mountain range. View...

A false color satellite image of California where snow is highlighted light blue. The Eastern portion of the state shows a significant degree of snow coverage and to the west the land is a vibrant green.

The peak of the blooming season brought vibrant colors to the Dutch landscape. View the full story

Long, rectangular fields of red, yellow, and pink flowers pop out against the surrounding green and brown terrain.

Months before the arrival of tourists and migrating birds, this high-elevation lake on the Tibetan Plateau was glazed with ice....

In this winter scene, a sheet of cracked ice tops part of the lake (right side of the image). On the left side, open water appears blue. Shallow water offshore of a delta, formed by a small, winding river, appears green. Several roads cut across the landscape, including one with switchbacks that ascends a steep slope.