Laboring at Big Bend Tunnel

The setting for John Henry’s legendary contest with a steam-powered drill may have been this tunnel through Big Bend Mountain in West Virginia.

Image of the Day Human Presence

Mountains and Coastal Living Along the Gulf of Policastro

Smooth beaches meet rugged alpine terrain along this section of coastline in southwestern Italy.

Image of the Day Land Water

California’s Park Fire Spread Fast and Hot

An array of satellite sensors observed the long-duration, episodic spread of the state’s historic fire.

Image of the Day Atmosphere Heat

Aftermath of a Landslide-Triggered Tsunami

The 56-foot wave in Pedersen Lagoon, on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, damaged trees and left a mark on the landscape.

Image of the Day Land Landslides

Dust Pours Off the Moroccan Coast

Desert winds kicked up a cloud of dust from northern Africa.

Image of the Day Atmosphere Land Dust and Haze

Storms Line the Northeast Pacific

Hurricane Hone brought soaking rains to Hawaii when it passed south of the island chain, and more storms brewed to the east.

Image of the Day Atmosphere Land Water Severe Storms

ARCSIX Analyzes Arctic Sea Ice Loss

In summer 2024, NASA scientists went to northern Greenland to study how clouds and atmospheric particles may be contributing to the ongoing loss of multiyear sea ice.  

Image of the Day Snow and Ice

Mexicali, Baja California

Urban and agricultural landscapes abut the U.S.–Mexico border in this part of the Sonoran Desert.

Image of the Day Human Presence

Land Surface Temperature

Land surface temperatures rise and fall with the heat of the Sun, and they represent how hot or cold the surface would feel to touch. These maps show daytime land temperatures as measured from space.

Heat Land

How to Interpret a Satellite Image: Five Tips and Strategies

What do you do when presented with a new satellite image? Here's what the Earth Observatory team does to understand the view.

Remote Sensing

World of Change

NASA satellites document how our world—forests, oceans, human landscapes, even the Sun—changes over months, seasons, and years.

Atmosphere Heat Land Life Human Presence Snow and Ice

The Arctic Radiation-Cloud-Aerosol-Surface Interaction Experiment (ARCSIX) in Greenland

Excerpts from a scientist's emails home to family provide a glimpse of what life was like on one of the world’s most northern scientific outposts in the world.

Atmosphere Climate Indicators Land Snow and Ice

Fire

Whether started by humans (farming, logging, or accidents) or by nature (lightning), fires are always burning somewhere on Earth. These maps show the locations of fires burning around the world each month.

Land

Under the Ash: Glacier Science at a Volcano

Researchers trekked to Alaska’s Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes to better understand the icy volcanic landscapes on Earth, Mars, and beyond.

Aerosol Size

Sea salt, volcanic ash, dust, wildfire smoke, and industrial pollution are types of airborne aerosols. Natural aerosols tend to be larger than human-made aerosols. These maps show when and where aerosols come from nature, humans, or both.

Atmosphere

Land Surface Temperature Anomaly

These maps depict anomalies in land surface temperatures (LSTs); that is, how much hotter or cooler a region was compared to the long-term average. LST anomalies can indicate heat waves or cold spells.

Heat Land

Dry in the Rio Grande Basin

Amid drought in southern Texas and northern Mexico, Amistad Reservoir has hit record-low levels.

Image of the Day Land Water Drought

Golfing in Illinois

The sport can be played on Earth’s distinctive green courses, such as those around Chicago, and even on the Moon’s gray soil.

Image of the Day Human Presence

Smoke Streams from Fires in Madeira

Heat and wind gusts helped the blazes spread through over 5,700 hectares of forest.

Image of the Day Heat Land Fires

August Puzzler

Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us where it is, what we are looking at, and why it is interesting.

Mission: Biomes

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in a different part of the world? What would the weather be like? What kinds of animals would you see? Which plants live there? By investigating these questions, you are learning about biomes.

Land Life

Earth at Night

Satellite images of Earth at night have been a curiosity for the public and a tool of fundamental research for at least 25 years. They have provided a broad, beautiful picture, showing how humans have shaped the planet and lit up the darkness.

Atmosphere Land Human Presence Remote Sensing

Blue Marble Next Generation

12 months of high-resolution global true color satellite imagery.

Atmosphere Land Water Snow and Ice

2024 North Atlantic Hurricane Season

Hurricane season in the basin runs from June 1 to November 30.

Atmosphere

Renewable and Alternative Energy

People have developed systems to harvest and store energy from sources such as wind, sunlight, and tidal action. Many of these installations are visible from orbit.

Land Human Presence

Air Quality

From ground-level ozone to particulate matter to nitrogen dioxide, an array of gasses and particles can affect the air people breathe, with implications for human health.

Atmosphere Human Presence

Temperature Extremes 2024

Warmer-than-average temperatures are showing up locally and globally, with consequences for people, landscapes, and ecosystems.

Heat

Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly

These maps depict how much hotter or cooler an ocean basin was compared to the long-term average. Temperature anomalies can indicate changes in ocean circulation or the arrival of patterns like El Niño and La Niña.

Heat Water

2024 Fires in the Northern Hemisphere

Whether sparked by lightning, intentional land-clearing, or human-caused accidents, wildland fires are burning longer and more often in some areas as the world warms.

Atmosphere Land Human Presence

Aerosol Optical Depth

Airborne aerosols can cause or prevent cloud formation and harm human health. These maps depict aerosol concentrations in the air based on how the tiny particles reflect or absorb visible and infrared light.

Atmosphere

Temperature Extremes 2023

Warmer-than-average temperatures are showing up locally and globally, with consequences for people, landscapes, and ecosystems.

Heat