Satellite imagery provides a unique perspective on our planet and can encompass a wide range of different scientific disciplines including climate change, weather, volcanic eruptions and even animal behavior. Every week, we take a bird's eye view of Earth, and see how it affects the people living on it.
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Latest about Earth from space
Svalbard's radioactive 'Bear Island' surrounded by rare cloud swirls and a giant algal bloom
Earth from space A 2023 satellite image captured a pair of peculiar phenomena painting parallel swirls in the sea and sky around Norway's Bear Island, which is surrounded by extremely radioactive waters left behind by a doomed Soviet submarine.
Pakistan's 'bleeding ink' lagoon brings life to harsh desert environment
Earth from space This 2014 satellite photo shows Pakistan's Khor Kalmat tidal lagoon brimming with water at the heart of an arid desert. This fluctuating body of water, which looks like "ink bleeding onto parchment," helps support life in this harsh environment.
'Lake of clouds' appears between volcanic nesting dolls in Russia via rare mirror-like phenomenon
Earth from space A 2023 astronaut photo captured a rare effect, known as sunglint, transforming the surface of one of Russia's deepest lakes into a sea of swirling clouds. The crater lake is sandwiched between a pair of unusual volcanic "nesting dolls" on a Pacific island.
Strange phenomena create festive decorations on Iraq's 'Christmas tree lake'
Earth from space A 2018 astronaut photo shows a festive, fir-tree-shaped artificial reservoir in Iraq decorated with both natural and imagined ornaments.
Antarctica's 'Deception Island' is one of the only places on Earth where you can sail into an active volcano
Earth from space A 2018 satellite photo shows the aptly named Deception Island, which was formed by a massive eruption 4,000 years ago and remains volcanically active today.
Otherworldly stripes and shadowy dunes share center stage in 'hottest place on Earth'
Earth from space This 2012 satellite photo shows a series of giant windblown ridges, known as yardangs, and a group of towering sand dunes at the heart of Iran's Lut Desert.
Crimea's 'putrid sea' creates beautiful rainbow of color but smells like rotten eggs
Earth from space A 2014 satellite photo of the Sivash region shows off the kaleidoscopic colors of a series of shallow, hypersaline lagoons — each filled with a different kind of algae.
Wandering sand dunes circle a gigantic 'eye' sculpted by an ancient city-killer meteor in the Sahara
Earth from space This 2013 astronaut photo shows a giant eye-shaped impact crater in the Sahara Desert that is slowly being circled by migrating sand dunes, helping researchers track how far these dunes can move over time.
Eerily circular 'Goblin Forest' surrounds sacred volcano with human rights
Earth from space This 2023 satellite photo shows New Zealand's Mount Taranaki, which is surrounded by a near-perfect circle of deformed trees. The volcano was recently granted the same legal rights as a person.
Giant 'phantom lake' dotted with stripy gold islands shimmers in Australian outback
Earth from space A 2010 satellite image shows dozens of golden islands covered with strange parallel lines shining among the shallow waters of a massive, half-full ephemeral lake in Australia's Great Sandy Desert.
