Furious Derecho Flattens Iowa Corn and Soybeans With Hurricane-Force Winds
Despite facing a dry July, many farmers in Iowa were expecting a good harvest in the fall. Instead, many had their fields of corn and…
Earth Observatory News
Extreme Heat in Death Valley Monitored by ECOSTRESS on Space Station
On August 16, 2020, temperatures in Southern California approached the highest levels ever reliably recorded on Earth. That day, NASA’s ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment…
Smoke Shrouds the U.S. West After More Than 10,000 Lightning Strikes Ignite Hundreds of Wildfires Across California
After more than 10,000 lightning strikes in 72 hours, hundreds of wildfires erupted across California, particularly in the northern part of the state. The fires,…
Thick Smoke Obscures California Skies After Wildfires Exploded Across the North
On August 18, 2020, several fires exploded across northern California and scorched thousands of acres. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA-NASA…
A Sandy Flower in the Pacific: Unusual Island Growing in Shallow Coastal Waters Near Hainan, China
In 2001, Dubai started construction on three large artificial islands in the Persian Gulf shaped like palm trees. A few years later, Doha began dredging…
Atmospheric Rivers: Australian Meteorologists Spot Double Cloud Trouble
Australian meteorologists took note recently when not one—but two—vast bands of clouds stretched from the eastern Indian Ocean to Australia, channeling streams of moisture that…
Aurora, Meet Airglow: Two of Earth’s Most Colorful Atmospheric Phenomena Meet in Stunning Photo From Space Station
Two of Earth’s most colorful upper atmospheric phenomena, aurora and airglow, met just before dawn in this photo shot by an astronaut on the International…
NASA Data Shows a Third of the U.S. Faces Drought
As the United States moves into the last weeks of climatological summer, one- third of the country is experiencing at least a moderate level of…
Sea Ice in Denmark Strait – Drifted More Than 1,000 Km (600 Miles) From the Arctic Ocean
Arctic sea ice is subject to some serious travel restrictions. Penned in by major land masses, most ice that forms in the Arctic Ocean stays…
NASA Scientists Map Beirut Blast Damage – Devastating Explosion Rocked Port Area
On August 4, 2020, a devastating explosion rocked the port area around Beirut, Lebanon. After the event, scientists used satellite radar imagery to map the…
Dazzling Photo of Chinese Port Cities at Night Taken by an Astronaut on the International Space Station
This photograph, taken by an astronaut from the International Space Station (ISS), captures the bright urban lights of two Chinese port cities. Xiamen and Quanzhou…
NASA Advanced Rapid Imaging Satellite Maps Blast Damage: Beirut Explosion Aftermath
Scientists are using satellite data to map ground surface changes in the aftermath of the recent explosion. NASA’s Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis (ARIA) team,…
NASA/NOAA Satellites Observe Surprisingly Rapid Increase in Scale and Intensity of Fires in Siberia
Abnormally warm temperatures have spawned an intense fire season in eastern Siberia this summer. Satellite data show that fires have been more abundant, more widespread,…
NOAA Satellite Watches Smoke From Apple Fire Spread – Driven by High Temperatures, Strong Winds
On August 2, 2020, the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 17 (GOES-17) acquired this image of the Apple Fire as it raged near San Bernardino National…
Mars Terraforming: Cultivating Ideas for Mars on Earth
Because the atmosphere is about 100 times thinner and less dense than on Earth, weather on Mars is defined by its extremes. Near the equator,…
Meandering Mississippi River: Photo Taken by Astronaut on Space Station Shows Divergence From State Boundaries
The winding Mississippi River historically has been used to define many state lines in the United States. This photo, taken by an astronaut onboard the…
Witness Incredible Phytoplankton Surge in Arctic Waters
Each summer, parts of the Arctic Ocean and peripheral seas lose their ice cover and bathe in ample sunlight. In this window of time, some…
The Next Best Thing to Jezero Crater This Side of Mars
You may not be able to travel to Jezero Crater on Mars, but you can visit the next best thing: Lake Salda, Turkey. Though it…
