NASA

Crafting the Blue Marble

One of the best surprises of my life was turning on my brand-new iPhone—before it had even been activated—glancing down at the screen, and seeing an image I had made. Apple chose the NASA Blue Marble ...
NASA

Ten Things to Know About Terra as the Long-Lived Satellite Surpasses 100,000 Orbits

If there was ever a satellite that deserves an award for longevity, it’s Terra. Designed for a mission of 6 years (or 30,000 orbits), the bus-sized spacecraft continues to cruise 705 kilometers (438 ...
NASA

Notes from the Field

When on land, an oceanography brain usually associates the term ocean motion with the movement of seawater in the form of ocean currents. However, when actually on the ocean, the biggest signal for ...
NASA

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NASA

Of Mosquitoes and Models: Tracking Disease by Satellite

In January 2016 in Kenya, the conditions were just right for an outbreak of Rift Valley fever. A strong El Niño on the other side of the world had brought higher temperatures and a wetter-than-normal ...
NASA

Methane Matters

For a chemical compound that shows up nearly everywhere on the planet, methane still surprises us. It is one of the most potent greenhouse gases, and yet the reasons for why and where it shows up are ...
NASA

In a Warming World, Storms May Be Fewer but Stronger

Few images are as beautiful and as terrifying as a satellite view of a hurricane about to make landfall. On October 29, 2012, the Suomi NPP satellite captured an ominous nighttime view of Sandy—an ...
NASA

Sea Level Rise Hits Home at NASA

For the past two centuries, two trends have been steady and clear around the United States. Sea level has been rising, and more people have been moving closer to the coast. As the ocean has warmed, ...
NASA

How to Interpret a Satellite Image:

Satellite images are like maps: they are full of useful and interesting information, provided you have a key. They can show us how much a city has changed, how well our crops are growing, where a fire ...
NASA

Why is that Forest Red and that Cloud Blue?

Chances are, you have a camera near you as you read this—in the smart phone in your pocket or on the tablet or computer you’re using to view this page. Some of you might have a 35 mm film or digital ...
NASA

Come Fly With the Newest Landsat

View the LDCM swath mosaic in GigaPan using the window below or on the GigaPan website. You can use the controls to zoom in and navigate the image. For more information, use the “help” button in the ...