Earth Observatory

Earth Observatory
Surface Water
Winds, waves, and ice near a remote town on the Chukchi Peninsula have sculpted a series of coastal inshore lagoons that resemble an icon of winter.
Posted December 17, 2025
Earth Observatory
The ancient walls, ramparts, and ditches that wind through this Nigerian city are the longest known earthworks of the pre-mechanical era.
Posted December 1, 2025
Earth Observatory
Expedition 73
In southeastern Libya, Jabal Arkanū’s concentric rock rings stand as relics of past geologic forces that churned beneath the desert.
Posted November 28, 2025
Earth Observatory
The tart berry and state fruit brings a red pop to holiday feasts—and to satellite images of Midwestern marshlands.
Posted November 27, 2025
Earth
Earth Observatory
On May 19, 2025, Landsat 9 captured this image of the Serra de Caldas in the state of Goiás, Brazil. The oval plateau is covered by a biologically rich savanna and grassland ecosystem called Cerrado. The Cerrado covers about one-fifth of Brazil’s land area and represents the second-largest biome in South America behind the Amazon. These lands […]
Posted June 9, 2025
Earth Observatory
Landsat 9
Natural Disasters
Lava encroaches on the Blue Lagoon, a popular tourist destination in Iceland, in this Nov. 24, 2024, Landsat 9 image overlaid with an infrared signal. The infrared signal helps distinguish the lava’s heat signature. A volcanic fissure burst open on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula four days prior, heralded by a series of earthquakes.
Posted December 6, 2024
Earth
Earth Observatory
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station captured this view of peak fall foliage around Ottawa, Canada on Oct. 14, 2020.
Posted September 16, 2024
SmallSats Program
Earth
Earth Observatory
NASA Headquarters
Planetary Science Division
Science Mission Directorate
NASA has selected eight companies for a new award to help acquire Earth observation data and provide related services for the agency.
Posted September 6, 2024
Earth
Earth Observatory
This Dec. 27, 2023 image of the São Francisco River in southeast Brazil showcases the range of vibrant colors in the area including blues, reds, greens, and yellows. Much of the unvegetated land, such as unplanted fields and unpaved roads, appears in bright shades of red and yellow. This coloration comes from the underlying clays […]
Posted August 15, 2024
Earth
Earth Observatory
Landsat
Landsat 9
Landsat 9’s Operational Land Imager-2 captured this image of the open pits and ponds of Telfer Mine and the surrounding rust-colored soil on Dec. 15, 2023. The soils have a reddish tint from the iron oxides that have accumulated from millions of years of weathering. This part of Western Australia is known for being rich in natural […]
Posted August 1, 2024
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