Cerro Aconcagua: Image of the Day
As the tallest mountain in South America, Cerro Aconcagua (or Aconcagua Mountain) is one of the Seven Summits: the highest peaks on each of the seven continents. Its name is believed by many to come from an an... More
Rock Creek National Park: Image of the Day
Rock Creek National Park is a forested valley running through the District of Columbia along the banks of Rock Creek. The national park connects with additional state park land outside of the district, providin... More
Shenandoah National Park: Image of the Day
The Shenandoah National Park stretches through the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Virginia. The area was first set aside as a National Park in 1935 after many years of effort. One aim was to create a subst... More
Water Detected at High Latitudes on the Moon
NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper, an instrument on the Indian Space Research Organization's Chandrayaan-1 mission, took this image of Earth's moon. It is a three-color composite of reflected near-infrared radiatio... More
Jupiter's Moons NASA Image of The Day
On Jan. 7, 1610, Galileo Galilei's improvements to the telescope enabled humanity to see Jupiter's four largest moons for the first time. Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto--the so-called Galilean satellites--we... More
Into the Heart of Darkness. NASA public domain image colelction.
Astronomers have long known that the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, known as Sagittarius A* (or Sgr A* for short), is a particularly poor eater. The fuel for this black hole come... More
SOFIA Aloft NASA Image of The Day
An F/A-18 mission support aircraft shadows NASA's Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, 747SP during a functional check flight Dec. 9, 2009. The flight included an evaluation of the aircra... More
Saluting Our Nation's Independence NASA Image of The Day
NASA Dryden's four F/A-18 mission support aircraft flew in formation for a pilot proficiency flight on Nov. 24, 2008, in this image. NASA Dryden photographer Tom Tschida created this composite image from an ori... More
Homecoming NASA Image of The Day
Darkness enshrouded space shuttle Endeavour as it touched down on Runway 15 at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After 14 days in space, Endeavour's 5.7-million-mile STS-13... More
On Launch Pad 39A NASA Image of The Day
The space shuttle Endeavour is seen after the rotating service structure is rolled back on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010 at Launch Pad 39A of the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Endeavour and the... More
Spacewalkers at Work NASA Image of The Day
During the second of three spacewalks STS-131 astronauts Rick Mastracchio (left) and Clayton Anderson continued maintenance activities outside the International Space Station by installing a 1,700-pound ammonia... More
Earth's Horizon NASA Image of The Day
Earth's horizon and the blackness of space provide the backdrop for Atlantis' aft section while it was docked with the International Space Station during the STS-132 mission. Image Credit: NASA NASA Identifier:... More
Preparing for Flight NASA Image of The Day
In preparation for its last planned mission to the International Space Station, shuttle Discovery was lowered onto its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building... More
Light Show Over the VAB. NASA public domain image colelction.
Lightning lights up the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida during thunderstorms on Monday, Sept. 27, 2010. The Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, is one of the largest buildings... More
The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS)
The Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) observed this large cloud of dust (brownish pixels) blowing from northern Africa across the Mediterranean Sea on March 4, 2002. The dust can be seen clearly b... More
Flooding on Russia's Lena River: Image of the Day
Nearly every year in the late spring, ice blocks the flow of water at the mouth of the Lena River in northeastern Russia and gives rise to floods across the Siberian plains. This year's floods can be seen in th... More
Close-up of Okanagan Fire, British Columbia: Image of the Day
The Okanagan Mountain Park Fire rages through the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada, in this false-color infrared image captured by the IKONOS satellite on August 21, 2003. The burned region appears d... More
Fires in Eastern Central Africa: Image of the Day
West of Lake Tanganyika in east-central Africa, scores of fires (orange dots) were choking the skies over Democratic Republic of Congo with smoke on May 23, 2004. To the east of the lake, fires are burning in T... More
Endangered Species Habitat Damaged by the 2003 California Fires: Image...
In fall of 2003, southern California experienced the worst fire season in the state's recorded history. Among the scores of losses caused by the fires was the damage and destruction of habitat for four species ... More
Fires in Central Africa: Image of the Day
Each year, thousands of fires burn across southern Africa beginning in May and ending in late August or early September. Between February and March, rainfall begins to shift from the savannas of southern Africa... More
Magnitude 6.1 Earthquake, Silakhor, Iran: Image of the Day
Just before dawn on March 31, 2006, a strong earthquake struck near Silakhor, Iran. The magnitude 6.1 earthquake killed at least 66 people, injured at least 1,280, and damaged buildings in 330 villages surround... More
Death Valley National Park: Image of the Day
At 86 meters (282 feet) below sea level, Death Valley, California, is one of the hottest, driest places on the planet. On average, the area sees only about 5 centimeters (1.96 inches) of rain a year, and summer... More
Dead Sea: Image of the Day. NASA public domain image colelction.
The lowest spot on dry land, the Dead Sea depression sinks 400 meters (1,300 feet) below sea level. River beds known in the region as drain into the small sea occasionally when it rains, but it is principally ... More
Phytoplankton Bloom off Patagonia: Image of the Day
On December 5, 2006, a phytoplankton bloom sent colorful swirls through the southern Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Patagonia, Argentina. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/... More
For conservation biologists, remote regions that have
For conservation biologists, remote regions that have seen little human impact pose a dilemma. Such areas generally have the most intact wildlife, and therefore they are often the target of conservation efforts... More
Spitsbergen, the largest of the islands in the Svalbard
Spitsbergen, the largest of the islands in the Svalbard Archipelago, sits well inside the Arctic Circle, just south of 80 degrees north latitude. This image of the island and its topography was captured by the ... More
After a record harvest in October 2007, Ethiopia settled
After a record harvest in October 2007, Ethiopia settled into a drought. Little rain fell during the October and November rainy season, and rainfall was predicted to be below normal in the March-to-May rainy se... More
NASA's terra.nasa.gov/ Terra satellite observed many
NASA's terra.nasa.gov/ Terra satellite observed many fires burning in northern Sakha, a Russian province in northeast Asia. These true-color scenes were acquired by the modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Moderate-resolut... More
In a photo-like satellite image, the faintest of shadows
In a photo-like satellite image, the faintest of shadows or shading of grey may give them away, but more often, clouds over the poles simply disappear against the background, camouflaged from the satellite's vi... More
After a record harvest in October 2007, Ethiopia settled
After a record harvest in October 2007, Ethiopia settled into a drought. Little rain fell during the October and November rainy season, and rainfall was predicted to be below normal in the March-to-May rainy se... More
Mudtrails from Fishing Trawlers in Gulf of Mexico: Image of the Day
No fishing activity causes more physical and ecological ''collateral damage'' than bottom trawling. Fishing boats drag large nets across the sea floor, scooping up seafood from shrimp to squid. But in addition ... More
SDO Launches NASA Image of The Day
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, SDO, launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V from Space Launch Complex-41 at 10:23 a.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 11, 2010. SDO is the first satellite of NASA's Living wi... More
President Speaks to Crew on Space Station
''And so we just wanted to let you know that the amazing work that's being done on the International Space Station not only by our American astronauts but also our colleagues from Japan and Russia is just a tes... More
The Crab Nebula NASA Image of The Day
The Crab Nebula, the result of a supernova noted by Earth-bound chroniclers in 1054 A.D., is filled with mysterious filaments that are are not only tremendously complex, but appear to have less mass than expell... More
The Birth of Stars NASA Image of The Day
This new Hubble photo is but a small portion of one of the largest seen star-birth regions in the galaxy, the Carina Nebula. Towers of cool hydrogen laced with dust rise from the wall of the nebula. Reminiscent... More
Expedition 24 Heads to the Station
The Soyuz TMA-19 rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, June 16, 2010, carrying Expedition 24 NASA astronauts Shannon Walker and Douglas Wheelock, and Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yu... More
Tattooed Mars NASA Image of The Day
Originally released Aug. 1, 2007, this image is of Mars' Russell Crater dune field, which is covered seasonally by carbon dioxide frost. This image shows the dune field after the frost has evaporated from solid... More
Red Tide off Texas Coast : Image of the Day
Red tides (algae) bloomed late this summer along a 300-mile stretch of Texas' Gulf Coast, killing millions of fish and shellfish as well as making some people sick. State officials are calling this the worst re... More
The Kunlun Fault : Image of the Day
The Kunlun fault is one of the gigantic strike-slip faults that bound the north side of Tibet. Left-lateral motion along the 1,500-kilometer (932-mile) length of the Kunlun has occurred uniformly for the last 4... More
Smoke and Haze over Bo Hai, China : Image of the Day
NASA's terra.nasa.gov/ Terra satellite observed a thick plume of aerosol pollution (greyish pixels) over eastern China, extending eastward over the Bo Hai Bay and Korea Bay. The source of the haze is not app... More
El Nino, the Usual Suspect?: Image of the Day
So far, it has been a very cold winter for most of the Eastern United States and, as usual, El Nino is getting most of the blame. However, new satellite images from NASA show the real culprit may be www.gsfc.n... More
Tornado Damage in Moore, Oklahoma: Image of the Day
On May 3, 2003, a group of intense supercell thunderstorms spawned multiple tornados that swept across Oklahoma and nearby states. One of the tornados touched down in the town of Moore, just south of Oklahoma C... More
Saharan Dust Sweeps Past Canary Islands: Image of the Day
A wall of Saharan Desert dust that was captured in an image from earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=11980 March 3, 2004, had billowed out over the Atlantic and begun to sp... More
Smoke Chokes Clouds : Image of the Day
Mushrooms of smoke billow up from burning vegetation in the Amazon and spread across a wide region of Mato Grosso state in Brazil in this modis.gsfc.nasa.gov Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MOD... More
Fires in China and Far-Eastern Russia: Image of the Day
A river of smoke more than 100 kilometers wide streams several hundred kilometers southward from fires (marked in red) in northern China (top left) in this image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradi... More
Fog Blankets Pakistan: Image of the Day
A blanket of fog over parts of Pakistan on November 27, 2004, created poor visibility and led to several traffic-related deaths. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer modis.gsfc.nas... More
Santa Fe, New Mexico: Image of the Day
Santa Fe, New Mexico, sits nestled in the foothills of the southern end of the Rocky Mountains at 7,000 feet above sea level. Here, the chain of mountains is called the Sangre de Cristo Range -- the Blood of Ch... More
These water-color-like images of the Pacific Ocean
These water-color-like images of the Pacific Ocean (bottom), the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico (center), and the Gulf of Mexico (top) show sea surface temperatures (top image) and chlorophyll concentrations ... More
Blue Marble: Next Generation: Image of the Day
Everyone knows that NASA studies space; fewer people know that NASA also studies Earth. Since the agency's creation almost 50 years ago, NASA has been a world leader in space-based studies of our home planet. T... More
Tropical Cyclone Monica: Image of the Day
Tropical Cyclone Monica formed off the northeastern coast of Australia on April 17, 2006. This is the same general area where earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=13431 Cycl... More
Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco: Image of the Day
Dagger-like ridgelines and fluted-edged mesas rise out of the desert floor of southwestern Morocco. This folded, eroded landscape is at the far southwestern end of the Anti-Atlas Mountains, where they taper off... More
Smoke Plume Over Eastern Canada: Image of the Day
In late May, a massive smoke plume hundreds of kilometers across blew eastward over New Brunswick toward the Atlantic Ocean. On May 26, 2007, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer modis.gsfc.nasa.g... More
As April 2007 turned into May, parts of southeast Australia
As April 2007 turned into May, parts of southeast Australia received some welcome rain. Nevertheless, weather forecasters said that it would takes months of record-breaking rainfall to pull the region out of se... More
Fires and Smoke Across South America : Image of the Day
The skies over the heart of South America were thick with the smoke from thousands of fires on September 9, 2007. In this image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer modis.gsfc.nasa.gov (MODIS... More
Kilauea Volcano: Image of the Day
On June 17, 2007, the ground under Kilauea underwent a -- a flurry of small earthquakes. A couple weeks later, on July 2, 2007, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer asterweb.jpl.... More
In November 2007, New Zealand's National Institute
In November 2007, New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) announced that ice volume in the country's Southern Alps had shrunk nearly 11 percent over the previous 30 years. NIWA... More
Unlike Mauritania's NASA Image of The Day
Unlike Mauritania's earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17954 Tenoumer Crater or Australia's earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17937 Wolfe Creek Crat... More
Wintertime on the Great Lakes: Image of the Day
Snow cover lingered in the Great Lakes region on February 16, 2008. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer modis.gsfc.nasa.gov (MODIS) on NASA's terra.nasa.gov Terra satellite captured this image... More
The swampy wetlands that surround Zambia's Kafue River
The swampy wetlands that surround Zambia's Kafue River were submerged with water when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ( modis.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS ) on NASA's terra.nasa.gov/ Terra satellite ... More
This pair of Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer
This pair of Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer images, acquired 16 days apart, covers the Liaoning region of China and parts of northern and western Korea. They contrast a relatively clear day (March 23, 20... More
NASA scientists have found that cirrus clouds, formed
NASA scientists have found that cirrus clouds, formed by contrails from aircraft engine exhaust, are capable of increasing average surface temperatures enough to account for a warming trend in the United States... More
Outside the ground is frozen, quite possibly covered
Outside the ground is frozen, quite possibly covered in snow and ice, and yet, stroll through a supermarket in North America or Europe in February, and you'll be confronted with large displays of roses. We expe... More
The longest river in Asia, the Yangtze River brings
The longest river in Asia, the Yangtze River brings mixed blessings to China. Although it meets the water needs of millions of people, the river regularly overflows its banks. In the twentieth century alone, Ch... More
Tropical Storm Noel pounded the Dominican Republic
Tropical Storm Noel pounded the Dominican Republic with earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14605 heavy rain as it passed over the island on October 28 and October 29, 2007... More
Kiritimati, Kiribati (Christmas Island): Image of the Day
Pronounced ''Ki-ris-mas,'' Kiritimati Island has a large infilled lagoon that gives it the largest land area (125 square miles, 321 square km) of any atoll in the world. Captain Cook named the atoll Christmas ... More
Subsidence in New Orleans: Image of the Day
Most people know that New Orleans has been sinking, but exactly how much has it sunk? In a paper published in the journal Nature, an international team of scientists determined the subsidence (sinking) in New O... More
Dust Storm near Lake Chad: Image of the Day
Dust from the Bodele depression in Chad, Africa (image right), is blowing across the Lake Chad region in this modis.gsfc.nasa.gov Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image taken by the terr... More
Dust and Smoke near Lake Chad: Image of the Day
A combination of dust of smoke clouds the air over Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad in this modis.gsfc.nasa.gov Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image acquired on January 8, 2004, by the aqua... More
Athens Olympics Sports Complex: Image of the Day
Athletes and sports fans from all over the world will soon focus their attention on Athens, Greece -- host city for the www.athens2004.com/ 2004 Summer Olympic Games. This high-resolution image shows the Ath... More
Flyover NASA Image of The Day. NASA public domain image colelction.
NASA pilots Jack Nickel (in the jet with tail number 62) and Charles Justiz fly over for a bird's eye view of two shuttles on the launch pad. Shuttle Atlantis is in the foreground and Endeavour can be seen in t... More
Stellar Nursery in the Rosette Nebula
This image from the European Space Agency's Herschel Space Observatory shows the cloud associated with the Rosette Nebula, a stellar nursery about 5,000 light-years from Earth in the Monoceros, or Unicorn, cons... More
A Matter of Perspective NASA Image of The Day
The Seagull nebula, seen in this infrared mosaic from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, draws its common name from it resemblance to a gull in flight. But it depends on your point of view. Wh... More
Take Your Children to Work Day. NASA public domain image colelction.
Children experience NASA from the inside during the annual ''Take Your Children to Work Day'' held each summer at NASA facilities across the country. Children get to see NASA facilities, participate in educatio... More
Practice Makes Perfect NASA Image of The Day
John Glenn practices insertion into the Mercury 'Friendship 7' spacecraft with help of Guenter Wendt, the original pad leader for NASA's manned space program, during pre-flight training. Image Credit: NASA NASA... More
Majestic Disk of Stars NASA Image of The Day
The Hubble Space Telescope revealed this majestic disk of stars and dust lanes in this view of the spiral galaxy NGC 2841. A bright cusp of starlight marks the galaxy's center. Spiraling outward are dust lanes ... More
The Early Cosmos NASA Image of The Day
Stars are forming in Henize 2-10, a dwarf starburst galaxy located about 30 million light years from Earth, at a prodigious rate, giving the star clusters in this galaxy their blue appearance. This combination ... More
Hyperspectral Imaging : Image of the Day
The Hyperion instrument aboard NASA's EO-1 satellite sees the Earth from space in a new way. Instead of detecting light in only 3--or even 30--wavelengths, it detects 220 distinct wavelengths of light. So man... More
Global Enhanced Vegetation Index : Image of the Day
By carefully measuring the wavelengths and intensity of visible and near-infrared light reflected by the land surface back up into space, the modarch.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiomete... More
Aerosols over Eastern Asia : Image of the Day
This Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) image of eastern Asia from October 14, 2001, shows large amounts of aerosol in the air. A few possible point sources of smoke, probably fires, are visible no... More
Phytoplankton off the West Coast of Africa: Image of the Day
Just off the coast of West Africa, persistent northeasterly trade winds often churn up deep ocean water. When the nutrients in these deep waters reach the ocean's surface, they often give rise to large blooms o... More
Iraq Border: Image of the Day. NASA public domain image colelction.
In an area north of the city of Al-Basrah, Iraq, which borders Iran, a former wetland has been drained and walled off. Now littered with minefields and gun emplacments, it is a staging area for military exerc... More
Smoke over Rondonia, Brazil: Image of the Day
In the Brazilian state of Rondonia, scientists have gathered to study gases and airborne particles produced in the tropics. Between September and November 2002, they are conducting integrated airborne and groun... More
Western United States and Southwestern Canada: Image of the Day
This natural-color image from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) captures the beauty of the western United States and Canada. Data from 45 swaths from MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera were c... More
Spectacular Bloom in the Barents Sea: Image of the Day
The Barents Sea north of Norway was awash in colorful swirls of blue and green on July 19, 2003. This spectacular display of color reveals the biological richness of these cold, nutrient-rich waters -- a bloom ... More
Egmont National Park : Image of the Day
Egmont National Park, in New Zealand, is dominated by the dormant volcano of Mt. Taranaki. Since the area has a high rainfall rate and mild coastal climate there is a lush rainforest covering the foothills, cha... More
Ancient Citadel of Bam, Iran: Image of the Day
This one-meter resolution satellite image of Bam, Iran was taken by www.spaceimaging.com/ Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite on Dec. 27, 2003, just one day after a catastrophic earthquake struck the historic ci... More
Safsaf Oasis, Eygpt: Image of the Day
How does a scientist know that the vast, featureless sand fields of the Sahara once ran with water? Water leaves its mark on the land, cutting channels and canyons where rivers flowed and leaving depressions wh... More
Drought in Northern China: Image of the Day
A mild drought set in over the Yellow River Basin and parts of the North China Plain during the first five months of 2006. Dry weather and warmer-than-average temperatures in February, March, and much of April ... More
In the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, verdant green
In the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, verdant green Amazon Rainforest is broken up by broad tracts of pale green and tan deforested land. In 2005, the www.brazilsf.org/brazil_press7.htm government of Brazil s... More
In eastern Africa, most areas experience one of two
In eastern Africa, most areas experience one of two rainfall patterns. Some places, such as western Kenya, have a single ''long rains'' season that runs from March until November or December. Other areas, such ... More
On August 13, 2005, the Ayles Ice Shelf on Ellesmere
On August 13, 2005, the Ayles Ice Shelf on Ellesmere Island in northern Canada broke away from the island and floated out to sea. According to news reports, the break took less than an hour, and Luke Copland, d... More
Qeshm Island, Iran: Image of the Day
Between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean lies the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow oceanic passageway through which much of the Persian Gulf's oil production passes. On the north side of the strait are mainland ... More
San Jose, Costa Rica: Image of the Day
San Jose, capital city of Costa Rica, fills the valley between two steep mountain ranges. In this image made from data collected by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer ( asterweb.... More
Hurricane Flossie: Image of the Day
Hurricane Flossie built itself up into a powerful www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml Category 4 hurricane as it traveled through the central Pacific Ocean in mid-August. By August 13, it had weakened to a Categ... More
Plume from Ol Doinyo Lengai, Tanzania: Image of the Day
In early September 2007, Tanzania's Ol Doinyo Lengai Volcano erupted, sending a cloud of ash into the atmosphere. On September 4, 2007, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer asterw... More
On May 14, 1607, a group of London-based entrepreneurs
On May 14, 1607, a group of London-based entrepreneurs and accompanying laborers, collectively known as the Virginia Company, made historicjamestowne.org/history/ landfall at Jamestown, Virginia, establishing... More
Africa's Sahel region, a margin of semi-arid grassland
Africa's Sahel region, a margin of semi-arid grassland around the southern limit of the Sahara Desert, gets most of its rainfall between June and September when the band of earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/N... More
It is not difficult to imagine that a gigantic volcanic
It is not difficult to imagine that a gigantic volcanic eruption spewing thick clouds of ash and gas high into the atmosphere would change the weather. After the Philippines' Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991, the... More
The Persian Gulf: Image of the Day
Public domain image of Egyptian art, free to use, no copyright restrictions photo - Picryl description
La Nina's fingerprint is all over plants in eastern
La Nina's fingerprint is all over plants in eastern Australia and southern Africa in this pair of vegetation images from the SPOT satellite. In these dry grasslands, plants live and die by the rain. Other place... More