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This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features the Po Valley, the most densely populated area in Italy, accounting for nearly half of the national population. This composite image contains several images captured between June 2018 and February 2019, allowing us to see the area free from clouds and smog.
The Po River, the longest river in Italy, flows over 650 km from west to east across the country, and ends at a delta projecting into the Adriatic Sea near Venice. The river flows through some of Italy’s important cities of the north.
On the very left of the image, next to the river, the city of Turin can be seen. A business and cultural centre, Turin is the capital of the Piedmont region. Rich in history, the city is home of the Shroud of Turin, a famous religious relic, as well as the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy. Turning to modern day, several International Space Station modules, such as Harmony and Columbus, were manufactured in Turin.
Moving east, the city of Milan can be seen nestling below the Alps. Although Milan is the second most populous city in Italy after Rome, the wider metropolitan area extends over Lombardy and eastern Piedmont, making it the largest metropolitan area in Italy.
Further east, the blue body of Lake Garda can be seen to the left of Verona. With an area of 370 sq km, Garda is the largest lake in Italy and the third largest in the Alpine region. East of the lake is the Adige River, flowing south before curving east toward Verona. The city of Verona has been awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO because of its urban structure and architecture such as the circular Roman amphitheatre.
Along the coast, the turquoise colours of the Venetian lagoon and the islands that make up the city of Venice are visible. Famous for its musical and artistic cultural heritage, millions of tourists flock to the archipelago every year.
As the Po River nears the Adriatic Sea, its agricultural landscape dominated by fields can be seen. Agriculture is one of the main industries in the Po Basin because of the fertile soils. Cereals, including rice, and a variety of vegetables are commonly grown in this area.
The main arms of the river push the delta into the sea. An important ecosystem, the area has been a regional park since 1988 and a biosphere reserve since 2015.
Copernicus Sentinel-2 is a two-satellite mission. Each satellite carries a high-resolution camera that images Earth’s surface in 13 spectral bands. Data from Copernicus Sentinel-2 can help monitor changes in land cover.
This image is also featured on the Earth from Space video programme.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2018–19), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission takes us over part of the Mekong Delta – a major rice-producing region in southwest Vietnam.
In Vietnam, rice has been a strategic crop for national food security. Vietnam is the fifth largest producer of rice in the world, the majority of which is grown in the Mekong Delta – a vast flood plain and one of Asia’s most fertile agricultural zones.
Such an enormous amount of rice is produced in the Mekong Delta that it is often referred to as Vietnam's 'rice bowl'. The rice grown here produces enough to make Vietnam the world's third biggest rice exporter – after India and Thailand.
This multi-temporal image combines three radar acquisitions from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission taken around one month apart to show changes in crop and land conditions over time. The bright colours in the image come from changes on the ground that have occurred between acquisitions.
Here, the first image, from 28 October 2019, picks out changes in pink and red, the second from 21 November shows changes in green, and the third image, from 27 December, shows changes in blue. As seen in the image, the majority of growth in the rice fields is visible in December. The grey areas represent either built-up areas or patches of land that saw no changes during this time.
Bodies of water reflect the radar signal away from the satellite, making water appear dark. This can be seen in the Bassac River, also known as the Hau river, in the right of the image. Ships in the river can be seen as bright, multi-coloured dots.
The combination of radar images from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission can help monitor and map the evolution of rice cultivation. Radar sensors are particularly useful owing to their ability to detect waterlogged ground and penetrate the humid cloud coverage typical of Asian rice-cultivating regions.
This image is also featured on the Earth from Space video programme.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2019), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Copernicus Sentinel-1 captured this radar image over French Guiana – home to Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, where ESA’s Biomass mission is being prepared for liftoff on 29 April onboard a Vega-C rocket.
This false-colour view shows part of the northeast coast of South America, stretching from the estuary of the Kourou River in French Guiana in the east, to Suriname, west of the Maroni River. The latter is visible as a dark line, snaking its way across the image and marking the border between the two countries.
The colours in this image come from the combination of two polarisations from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, which have been assigned a colour and converted into a single composite. This processing technique helps to distinguish different types of surface, thereby providing detailed information.
Here, water is clearly reflected in dark shades of blue. Distinct wave patterns can be seen in the Atlantic Ocean since the radar signal is highly sensitive to changes in the roughness on the water: calm waters appear darker, while rough seas appear brighter.
The dark, branching waterways of the Petit Saut Reservoir stand out in the centre-right of the image. The water body was formed by a hydroelectric dam built on the Sinnamary River. The river can be seen winding its way north to eventually drain into the Atlantic Ocean.
Most of the land is shown in vibrant shades of yellow, indicating tropical rainforests and other areas of vegetation, where radar signal interacts and bounces from the complex structure of the canopy, including tree trunks, branches and leaves. Built-up areas appear more colourful than the surroundings.
With over 90% of land covered by forest, French Guiana is the territory with the most trees per inhabitant in the world. Since it is an overseas department of France, it is also the only part of the Amazonian forest in the EU.
Northeast of the Petit Saut Reservoir, on the coast between the estuary of the Sinnamary River and the Kourou River, lies Europe's Spaceport. This is home to the ESA-developed Ariane and Vega rocket families and allows for independent, reliable access to space for Europe.
From here, ESA’s Biomass mission is scheduled to launch on a Vega-C rocket on 29 April.
Once in orbit, this latest Earth Explorer mission will provide vital insights into the health and dynamics of the world’s forests, revealing how they are changing over time and, critically, enhancing our understanding of their role in the global carbon cycle, and hence in the climate system.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2025), processed by ESA; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Crater Copernicus is a brightly rayed crater in the northern Mare Insularum. (Ruki 31).
ZWO ASI178MC
Meade LX850 (12" f/8)
Losmandy G11
4,000 frames captured in Firecapture
Best 600 frames stacked and wavelet sharpened in PSS.
Finished in Photoshop
Telescope: Celestron 8SE & 13mm Baader Hyperion eyepiece
Camera: Sony A7
Image source: Single ARW image file
Date: 6/1/2020
Location: St Charles, IL
Imaged AFOCAL (through telescope lens)
Camera settings seen in image details.
This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image shows the delta of the Ebro River on the northeast coast of Spain.
Stretching across 910 km of northern Spain, the Ebro River is the second-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. In the image, it can be seen as a green line winding its way through the peninsula before flowing into the Mediterranean, shaping the Ebro Delta.
The Ebro River discharges more water into the sea than any other river in Spain. As suspended sediment flows from the river’s mouth, it tints the coastal waters with a turquoise hue.
Covering an area of about 320 sq km, the Ebro Delta is one of the largest wetlands in the western Mediterranean region.
Most of the delta comprises the Ebro Delta Nature Reserve. With its protected wetlands, beaches, marshes, salt pans and estuaries, this reserve provides a natural habitat for numerous migratory birds and waterfowl.
Zooming on the peninsula, several green lagoons dot the coastline, while much of the inland areas are dominated by agricultural fields, primarily rice paddies. These fields display a range of colours depending on the different stage of growth of the crops. The city of Amposta is in the centre of the peninsula, straddling the Ebro River.
The coastal region surrounding the peninsula features a double system of mountain chains interspersed with plains. These plateaus are predominantly cultivated where crops such as wheat, barley, fruits and vegetables are grown.
The city of Tarragona, home to one of the largest ports in Spain, is visible along the coast in the top right corner. Ships off the coast can be seen as colourful dots in the dark waters. Tarragona is an important agricultural market and a tourist destination thanks to the beautiful beaches near the city.
With its five-day revisit and global coverage, Copernicus Sentinel-2 offers excellent opportunities for both regional and global agriculture monitoring. Its data can help to assess agricultural land use and trends, crop conditions and yield forecasts.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2023), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over part of the Great Rift Valley, Kenya.
This valley is part of the Gregory Rift, an eastern branch of the East African Rift, which is being caused by the separation of the Somali plate from the Nubian plate. Major tectonic and volcanic activity have shaped the distinctive landscape of the Great Rift Valley which runs through Kenya from north to south.
The dramatic landscape contains the Cherangani Hills and forests to the west, a chain of volcanoes, of which some are still active, escarpments and jewel-like lakes.
Lake Baringo, one of the most northern of the Kenyan Rift Valley lakes, is visible at the top of the image. With a surface area of 130 sq km and an elevation of around 970 m, the lake has an average depth of around 5 m and it is one of the two freshwater lakes in the Rift Valley – the other being Lake Naivasha (not visible).
This lake has no visible outlet; its waters are thought to seep into lavas at its northern end – where the rocky shore contrasts with the alluvial flat on its southern border.
Baringo is dotted with several small islands. Its largest is visible in the centre of the lake and is called Ol Kokwe (also known as the Meeting Place). It is an extinct volcano with several hot springs. A great variety of birds inhabit Lake Baringo, which is also home to hippopotamuses and crocodiles.
South of Lake Baringo lies Lake Bogoria – a saline, alkaline lake. The long and narrow lake has an area of around 30 sq km and is around 10 m deep. Lake Bogoria provides refuge for the lesser flamingo, with a population of around 1 to 1.5 million, and also supports more than 300 waterbird species. The lake is a designated Ramsar site and is also part of the Lake Bogoria National Reserve.
The lake is famous for geysers and hot springs along the bank of the lake – some of which can erupt up to 5 m high. The lake’s stable water level makes it highly important during times of drought.
Copernicus Sentinel-2 is a two-satellite mission to supply the coverage and data delivery needed for Europe’s Copernicus programme. The mission’s frequent revisits over the same area and high spatial resolution allow changes in inland water bodies to be closely monitored.
This image, captured on 13 March 2019, is also featured on the Earth from Space video programme.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2019), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the Leelanau Peninsula on the northwest coast of Northern Michigan, US.
The region is shaped by rolling hills, large inland lakes shaped by glaciers around 20 000 years ago which form the basis for great farmland. The body of water that surrounds the peninsula is Lake Michigan, one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the US.
In the image, the bright turquoise in the water shows sediments, algae and chlorophyll in the shallower waters along the shore. The greener colours visible in Lake Leelanau to the north, Platte Lake to the west, and several inland bodies of water are due to a combination of a high chlorophyll and plant content.
The Sleeping Bear Dunes Lakeshore extend for around 55 km along the coast of the peninsula, and is visible in light brown. The name comes from an Ojibwa legend in which a mother bear and her two cubs swim across the lake trying to escape a forest fire. The two cubs are said to have disappeared in the process, and the mother bear waited for weeks for them to re-surface before finally falling asleep and never waking. Touched by her suffering, a powerful spirit is said to have covered her with sand, and raised the two cubs above the water, creating the North and South Manitou islands, visible north of the peninsula.
A more realistic explanation of the creation of the Sleeping Bear Dunes is geology. During the last Ice Age, glaciers spread southwards from Canada burying this area under sheets of ice. During the process, piles of sand and rock were deposited in the area. When the ice retreated and melted, it left the hilly terrain that exists along the lake today. The area is popular for hiking and climbing.
This image, which was captured on 18 October 2018, is also featured on the Earth from Space video programme.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2018), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
1. Clavius and Tycho Craters
2. Copernicus crater
127 Mak
ZWO ASI 120MC
2x Barlow
Stacked from 90 Seconds of video
The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission takes us over the Bering Strait, which connects the Pacific and Arctic Oceans between Russia and the US state of Alaska.
The image was created by combining three radar scans of 11 December 2017, 23 December 2017 and 4 January 2018. Each image has been assigned a different colour: blue, red and green, respectively. This creates a colourful composite that highlights how the sea ice changed over the four weeks.
Since the Bering Strait lies slightly south of the polar circle, days are short during the winter. Thanks to its radar, Sentinel-1 can ‘see’ through clouds and in the dark, making it especially valuable for monitoring parts of the planet that endure relatively dark winter months. Offering this ‘radar vision’, images from Sentinel-1 can be used for charting icebergs and for generating maps of sea ice for year-round navigation.
Additionally, monitoring changes in the extent of sea ice is critical for understanding the effect of climate change on our environment.
It has been reported that sea ice in the Bering Strait has been particularly low this winter. This is because unusually warm water streamed up from the south, causing some of the sea ice to melt earlier than usual. As a result, areas that would have remained covered with reflective sea ice were open for much longer. The relatively dark surface of the sea was able to absorb a lot of energy from the Sun, which prevented sea ice forming in the autumn. Also, recent storms have helped to break up much of the sea ice that did manage to form.
This image is also featured on the Earth from Space video programme.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2017–18), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
On 20 September, the Copernicus Sentinel-2C satellite captured its first stunning image of the Moon, achieved by rolling the satellite sideways in a unique manoeuvre. Although Sentinel-2C is designed for Earth observation, this image – intended for calibration and cross-mission comparisons – exceeded expectations.
The image, with an impressive resolution of around 5 km, reveals notable lunar features, including the Copernicus Crater, the Tycho Crater and the lunar seas: the Sea of Tranquillity, the Sea of Moisture and the Sea of Clouds. This showcases the versatility of Sentinel-2C's multispectral imager, which usually operates from its 786 km orbit to capture high-resolution data of Earth's land and coastal waters.
This lunar image is part of a regular 'Moon calibration' process. Roughly once a month, the satellite will roll sideways to image the Moon instead of Earth. The Moon's well-known and stable light intensity allows us to detect and correct even the smallest changes in the instrument's performance, which can occur due to aging, such as optical coating degradation or detector drifts.
This process ensures the 'radiometric accuracy' of the data remains precise throughout the mission, a critical parameter for many applications.
The raw data initially displayed an elongated, eclipse-shaped Moon caused by the relative motion between the Moon and the satellite. A correction of this effect was carried out to realise this fantastic image.
Launched on 5 September 2024, Sentinel-2C joins its twin satellites in orbit continuing to deliver valuable high-resolution imagery for the Copernicus programme.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2024), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Copernicus "Purry" is such a little stinker, we have him for 1 1/2 days now & he is really showing us his personality, he just loves his daddy, last night he ran right past me jumped on the bed right by him... He does like to get his picture taken, when he takes time to stay still LOL...
Texture is a picture of a stone I had taken..
The Copernicus Sentinel-2B satellite takes us to the Republic of Fiji in the South Pacific Ocean on 28 September 2017. Part of Fiji’s largest island, Viti Levu, is pictured here, with coral reefs speckling the water.
Click on the box in the lower-right corner to view this image at its full 10 m resolution directly in your browser.
Shaped by volcanic activity and earthquakes, the centre of the island is dominated by forests and a mountain range. The highest peak, Mount Tomanivi, reaches over 1320 m and is located on the central-right side of the image. While the area east of the mountain range receives heavy rainfall, the west side pictured here is in the ‘rain shadow’, meaning that the mountains block the rain clouds, leaving this area drier than the east.
In addition to the human population of some 600 000, one of the largest insect species also resides on Viti Levu: the giant Fijian long-horned beetle. The island is the only known home to the beetle, which grows up to about 15 cm long – excluding antennae and legs.
With more than 300 islands, the Fijian archipelago's low-lying coastal areas are at risk of sea-level rise – a devastating consequence of climate change. Satellites carry special instruments to measure sea-level rise – but not only. Different instruments can measure different climate variables, from greenhouse gases to melting glaciers, and offer a global view of the state of our planet.
The Republic of Fiji holds the presidency for this year’s COP 23 (Conference of the Parties) on climate, held this week and next at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change headquarters in Bonn, Germany.
In February 2016, Cyclone Winston struck Fiji, damaging tens of thousands of homes and buildings, leaving more than 130 000 in need of shelter. With the COP 23 Presidency, Fiji calls for everyone to come together to build partnerships for climate action between governments, civil society and the private sector – and to work together to improve the climate resilience of vulnerable nations and communities.
This image is featured on the Earth from Space video programme.
Credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2017), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image showcases striking rocky formations amid the blue waters of Halong Bay in northeast Vietnam.
Halong Bay spans about 1500 sq km along the northwest coast of the Gulf of Tonkin, the northwest extension of the South China Sea. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994, the bay is home to a dense cluster of islands and islets, varying in shape and size, jutting from the sea as jagged limestone pinnacles. Each island is topped with thick, evergreen vegetation, while several conceal enormous caves and grottoes within.
A significant portion of the population depends on the bay for tourism, pearl farming, marine aquaculture and fishing. Around 1700 people reside in traditional floating fishing villages and maintain a way of life connected to the water. Brown rectangular features visible in the image across the bay show structures associated with these activities.
There are two bigger islands within the bay that have permanent inhabitants: Tuần Châu and Cát Bà.
Cát Bà island, visible in green in the lower left of the image, features a landscape of rugged hills and narrow valleys. Renowned for its rich biodiversity, the island is home to a national park, established in 1986 to protect its diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
North of Cát Bà lies Tuần Châu island, one of Halong Bay’s most popular tourist destinations. The island features two purpose-built beaches of fine, white sand, visible to the east and south. A 2-km road to the north links the island to the mainland and the port city of Halong.
Halong, the capital of the province, has an economy primarily driven by tourism and coal mining. The distinctive concentric patterns of open-pit coal mines are clear to spot to the east appearing in shades of violet owing to the exposed leftover soil.
About 40 km southwest, facing Cát Bà island, lies Haiphong, Vietnam’s third-largest city and a key industrial hub. Strategically positioned on the northeastern edge of the Red River Delta, Haiphong serves as the main port for the capital Hanoi (not pictured), and is the biggest coastal city in northern Vietnam.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2025), processed by ESA; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The Copernicus Sentinel-3A satellite takes us over southern Siberia and the world’s largest freshwater lake: Lake Baikal.
Imaged on 14 March 2017, this deep lake is covered by ice. The entire lake is typically covered between January and May and in some places the ice can be more than 2 m thick.
Holding around 23 000 cubic km of water, Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake by volume in the world. It contains about 20% of the world’s fresh surface water, which is more than all of the North American Great Lakes put together. Baikal water is extraordinarily clean, transparent and saturated with oxygen. The high transparency is thanks to numerous aquatic organisms purifying the water and making it similar to distilled water.
At 25 million years old, this remarkable lake is also the oldest in the world. It is known as the Galapagos of Russia because its age and isolation have produced rich and unusual water wildlife, which is of exceptional value to evolutionary science. Occasionally, new species are discovered and it has been estimated that we know of only 70–80% of all the species inhabiting the lake. For these reasons, in 1996 it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The lake is surrounded by mountain-taiga landscapes, which are also protected to preserve their natural state.
This image is also featured on the Earth from Space video programme.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2017), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image captures the meandering course of the Likouala-aux-Herbes river in the Republic of the Congo.
Likouala-aux-Herbes is a tributary of the Sangha river, which in turn is a tributary of Africa’s second longest river: the Congo, which also gives its name to the country. Likouala-aux-Herbes flows for about 700 km through the Congolese Cuvette, a vast depression within the Congo River basin. The region is covered with permanent swamp and marsh, dense forests and grassland, which also explains the origin of the river’s name, meaning ‘grassy river’.
The various colours in the image reflect this diverse ecosystem, with dark green forests opening into flooded peatlands, appearing in shades of brown and red.
Near the centre of the image, we can see where the smaller Batanga River flows into Likouala-aux-Herbes. Northwest of this confluence is Epena, a village of about 5000 people and the district’s administrative capital, visible on the riverbank as a lighter, structured area within the surrounding green vegetation.
West of Epena lies the Lac Télé/Likouala‑aux‑Herbes Community Reserve, a Ramsar wetland of international importance, which is home to a wealth of biodiversity, including a swamp forest, flooded and wooded savanna, floating prairie and rich wildlife.
The soil under the reserve contains major stores of peat, as in the whole Congo River basin, which is home to one of the world's largest tropical peatlands. As peatlands act as carbon sinks, storing tonnes of carbon, their conservation is critically important for the global climate. Any disturbance could in fact result in the release of stored carbon into the atmosphere, consequently exacerbating global warming.
Although their importance is internationally recognised, peatlands are still under threat from deforestation, agriculture and other human activities. Satellite images can greatly support the efforts to preserve these areas, helping to observe the process of sustainable cultivation and to identify illegal land use and deforestation.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2025), processed by ESA; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Alaska’s Columbia Glacier, one of the fastest changing glaciers in the world.
The Columbia Glacier, visible just above the middle of the image, is a tidewater glacier that flows down the snow-covered slopes of the Chugach Mountains, which dominate the upper part of the image. The mountains hold Alaska’s largest concentration of glacial ice.
Since the early 1980s, the Columbia Glacier has retreated more than 20 km and lost about half of its total volume. This one glacier accounts for nearly half of the ice lost in the Chugach Mountains.
The changing climate is thought to have caused its retreat. Until 1980, when its rapid and constant retreat began, the glacier’s terminus was observed at the northern edge of Heather Island, which lies near the end of Columbia Bay, the inlet into which the glacier currently flows before draining into Prince William Sound. This satellite image, acquired in September 2023, shows instead the deep mostly ice-free Columbia Bay dotted with numerous icebergs and fragmented sea-ice.
Depending on the amount of sediment coming from the Chugach Mountains, water bodies throughout the image can be seen in an array of colours: clear waters of the Pacific Ocean appear dark blue, while turbid waters in inlets and glacial lakes appear in light blue or cyan.
Columbia is just one of the many glaciers suffering from the effects of climate change. Most of the glaciers around the world are losing mass. However, before the advent of satellites, measuring their retreat and studying their vulnerability to climate change was difficult considering their size, remoteness and rugged terrain they occupy.
Different satellite instruments now can gather information systematically and over large areas, providing an effective means to monitor change, keep track of all calving stages and quantify the melting rate and their contribution to sea-level rise.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2023), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission shows us what is left of the Aral Sea, once the fourth largest lake in the world.
Straddling the border between Kazakhstan in the north and Uzbekistan in the south, the Aral Sea was once a large inland water body in Central Asia. In 1960, the lake covered an area of about 68 000 sq km – twice the size of Belgium.
Before the 1950s, the Syr Darya and the Amu Darya rivers carried fresh mountain water into this temperate oasis, situated in a mostly arid region. However, in the 1960s, the rivers were diverted to irrigate cotton fields across the region and since then the Aral Sea has shrunk dramatically.
By the end of the 1980s, the Aral Sea had split into two bodies of water – the Large Aral shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and a smaller almost unconnected lake to the north, the Small Aral, in Kazakhstan. By 2000, the Large Aral had further split into two.
In this image from 18 March 2025, we can see how the western lobe has reduced substantially, while the eastern lobe, still visible in this image from 2006, has virtually dried up. As the Aral Sea evaporated, it left behind a zone of dry, salty terrain. This appears in the image as a whitish area over the former lakebed, now the Aralkum Desert, Earth’s youngest desert.
The retreat of the waters devastated the area’s thriving fishing industry and altered the regional microclimate. Violent sandstorms have now become an annual occurrence, transporting tonnes of salt and sand from the dried-up lakebed across hundreds of kilometres. This causes severe health problems for the local population and makes regional winters colder and summers hotter.
At the northern tip of the western half of the Large Aral, we can spot the remnant of what appeared as an emerald green heart-shaped body of water in 2019. This water body is also retreating and is likely to disappear soon.
The ice-covered waters of the Small Aral Sea can be seen in the upper part of the image. While the lake’s entire southern section is expected to soon dry out completely, the Small Aral Sea is the focus of international preservation efforts.
The two brown straight lines at the southeastern tip of Small Aral indicate the Kok-Aral dike, which was constructed to prevent water flowing into the southern section of the lake and to stabilise the water level and salinity in the northern section. Since its completion in 2005, the water level has risen in the northern section by an average of 4 m.
The drying up of the Aral Sea is a striking example of long-term changes – both natural and linked to human activity – that can be tracked by satellites to provide data to help decision-making.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2025), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features the ice tongue of the Dawson-Lambton Glacier in Antarctica.
The Dawson-Lambton Glacier lies southwest of the Brunt Ice Shelf in the Weddell Sea sector of the continent. This image was captured in October 2023, but compared to images from October 2022, the seasonal sea ice around the glacier is much decreased.
Patterns on and around the glacier depict crevasses and rumples, resulting from pressure as the glacier slides towards the sea. Over the past decades, glaciologists have used satellite data to monitor the glacier’s retreat.
As well as climate issues related to the demise of ice, changes in this region have also raised concerns because this area is home to the long-established colony of Dawson-Lambton emperor penguins. To breed, they need patches of sea ice that remain intact from April until December. However, their habitat is at risk because warming waters are melting the sea ice. Also, a calving event in January 2023 raised fears that the penguins might not return to the glacier.
Although studying and identifying penguin colonies is difficult owing to the remoteness of Antarctica, satellite imagery can been used to track penguin guano, which can be spotted on the ice here thanks to the 10 m pixel resolution offered by Copernicus Sentinel-2. Black stains can be seen on the sea ice some 50 km north of the Dawson-Lambton Glacier, implying the presence of thousands of penguins.
Different satellites and sensors offer the unique opportunity to monitor what is happening in this remote region.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2023), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Crater Copernicus is accompanied by a large and brilliant ray system that dominates any image that encompasses it. The crater, as seen in this closeup, are quite striking. Details in the crater's ramparts, interior walls, floor and central peak can be seen. (A. Ruki 31)
ZWO ASI178MC/2.5x PowerMate
Meade LX850 (12" f/8)
Losmandy LX850
4000 frames captured in Firecapture
Best 320 frames stacked in Autostakkert
Wavelet sharpened in Registax
Finished in Photoshop
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captured a rare, cloud-free image over the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Lying off the northwest coast of Africa, the archipelago is an autonomous region of Portugal and comprises two inhabited islands, Madeira, the largest, and Porto Santo (top right), and two uninhabited groups, the Desertas (partially visible at the bottom) and the Selvagens (not pictured).
The islands of Madeira are volcanic in origin: they are the tops of mountains that rise from the ocean floor deep below. The Portuguese explorers named them Madeira, which is Portuguese for wood, inspired by the dense forests that covered the islands when they arrived.
The lush main island of Madeira is famous for its rugged, green landscape and is home to unique endemic flora and fauna. To protect this natural environment, two thirds of the island are designated as national park. The Madeira Natural Park includes the Laurisilva of Madeira, a Unesco World Heritage site and the largest surviving area of primary laurel forest. This type of vegetation is now confined to the Macaronesian Islands ̶ the islands of Madeira, the Azores, the Canary Islands and Cabo Verde.
Funchal, Madeira’s capital, can be seen as a large, light-brown area on the island’s southeast coast, on the lower slopes of mountains that reach 1200 m. The runway of Madeira’s airport is visible on the east coast.
The narrow Desertas Islands at the bottom are also designated as a natural reserve. Uninhabited by humans due to scarce and poor-quality water, Desertas are home to numerous species of birds, as well as the protected Mediterranean monk seal. The islands are relatively barren with their reddish and brown ground, a reminder of their volcanic origin.
Porto Santo, at the top, features white, sandy beaches along its south coast. Here, the island’s main town, Vila de Porto Santo, can also be spotted, with its airport visible just to the north. At each end of the island are hills. At 515 m, Facho Peak, on the west, is the highest.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2024), processed by ESA; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features an area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.
The term ‘wheat belt’ refers to inland agricultural areas in eastern and southern Australia named for their production of wheat – which was the main agricultural product in the early history of Australia’s development. Wheatbelt areas are usually arid, making agriculture largely reliant on rainfall and irrigation.
The Wheatbelt is one of the nine regions of Western Australia and lies in the southwest section of the state. Covering an area of around 160 000 sq km., the region only has an estimated population of around 75 000 residents.
This image shows a part of the region which is very arid and is used mainly for agricultural production. The area is a major producer of wheat, barley and wool. The area is also used for the livestock production and the pastoral sheep farming, as well as horticulture.
Fields have a distinctive appearance in this week’s image, creating a colourful patchwork of geometric shapes. This composite image was created by combining three separate images from the near-infrared channel from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.
The first image, from 9 May 2019, is visible in red; the second from 6 September 2019, can be seen in green; and the third from January 2020 can be seen in blue. All other colours visible in the image are different mixtures of red, green and blue, and vary according to their stage of growth over the nine-month period.
According to reports from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Western Australia’s climate has changed over recent decades, with significant reductions in growing-season rainfall. Climate variability and changing weather patterns strongly affect agriculture – increasing production risk for crops and pastures.
Owing to their unique perspective from space, Earth observation satellites are key in mapping and monitoring croplands. The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission is specifically designed to provide images that can be used to distinguish between different crop types as well as data on numerous plant indices, such as leaf area index, leaf chlorophyll content and leaf water content – all of which are essential to accurately monitor plant growth.
This image is also featured on the Earth from Space video programme.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2019-20), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The Copernicus Sentinel-2A satellite brings us over northwest India with this false-colour image captured on 4 March 2017.
The Indian city of Bikaner is visible in the lower part of the image, surrounded by a varied landscape of agricultural structures and sand dunes.
The city lies in the Thar Desert, an arid region covering about 320 000 sq km in India and Pakistan. Most of the desert is covered by large, shifting sand dunes, some which are visible in the upper part of the image. The high winds also carry dry soils to neighbouring fertile lands, degrading them.
Archaeological evidence suggested that the region was once lush countryside, but the over-exploitation of land and water resources by humans over thousands of years drastically changed the landscape into what we see today.
In recent times, India has turned its attention to restoring the ecology and curbing the desertification of the region. For example, the Indira Gandhi Canal bringing water to the area pictured was built to keep the desert from spreading to the fertile areas, and to reclaim the land with irrigated planting projects. In this false-colour image, vegetation appears red.
Every year, 17 June marks the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.
ESA helps the UN Convention to Combat Desertification by providing annual global datasets on land cover and land cover changes. ESA also supports the development of operational guidelines for countries to engage in the Convention’s Land Degradation Neutrality initiative.
This image is featured on the Earth from Space video programme.
Credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2017), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The rising sun is beginning to illuminate the great crater Copernicus in this image acquired a number of months ago. The terraced walls of one side of the crater are being strongly illuminated together with the crater's central peaks. Approximately half of Copernicus remains in deep shadow together with the inky blackness of craters Reinhold and Reinhold "A" below left. In contrast the large crater Eratosthenes towards the top right is almost fully illuminated.
Copernicus Sentinel2 | With 5,642 m (18,510 ft) above sea level is the highest and most prominent peak in Russia and Europe and the highest stratovolcano in Eurasia | Caucasus Mountains
Taken on 12 October as sunlight was striking the eastern edges of the mountain range. Copernicus is the large bright crater lower left. The distinctive crater at the lower end of the mountain range is Eratosthenes.
Peter
Equipment:
ZWO ASI174MM mono CMOS camera, IR pass filter, 300mm f/10 Meade LX200 SCT, EQ8 mount
The Copernicus Sentinel-1B satellite takes us over central Italy. From the Apennine Mountains in the top right, to the fertile, former lakebed of the Avezzano plain in the centre right, this bright, false-colour image captures the diversity and beauty of the region’s landscapes.
Dual-polarisation radar technology has been used, resulting in vibrant shades of green for most of the land surface shown. Built up areas, such as Italy’s capital city of Rome, appear in shades of red and pink. Meanwhile, the structure of the agricultural fields of Altopiano in the Abruzzo region is clearly reflected in a combination of blue and violet hues.
This radar technology allows us to see the crater lake structures of the volcanic lakes of Nemi and Albano in the bottom left clearly. The same is true for Lago di Vico with the volcano and crater clearly visible in the top left of the image.
The central region of Italy is an important one for the space industry. For example, ESA’s centre for Earth observation, which celebrates its 50-year anniversary this week, is located in this area.
This region is also prone to earthquakes. In August 2016, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck the small towns of Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto. It was followed by two aftershocks. A magnitude 6.6 earthquake in Norcia followed in October the same year. The tremor of this last earthquake was felt across the country. It was the most powerful one to hit Italy since 1980.
Sentinel-1’s radar technology can provide images with a resolution of 10 m and within hours of acquisition to aid emergency response. This imagery can support impact assessments for many types of hazard including floods and earthquakes.
This image, which was captured on 6 July 2018, is also featured on the Earth from Space video programme.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2018), processed by ESA,CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Copernicus (left) and Alnitak. Photo taken April 2, 2007, processed to reduce noise on April 2, 2023.
The Copernicus Sentinel-1D satellite has been encapsulated inside the Ariane 6 fairing at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.
Encapsulation is when the satellite is placed inside the protective ‘nose cone’ of the rocket, known as the fairing. It is the final view of the satellite before launch, which is scheduled for Tuesday, 4 November at 22:03 CET.
The Sentinel-1 mission, which provides radar vision for the Copernicus Earth observation programme. The mission operates in all weathers, day-and-night, to deliver high-resolution radar images of Earth’s surface. This service is used by disaster response teams, environmental agencies, maritime authorities and climate scientists, who depend on frequent updates of critical data.
Credits: ESA - M. Pédoussaut
Copernicus crater, Montes Carpatus to the left and Eratosthenes to the top right. A blend of two shots for enhanced colour. Both images taken with Celestron C11 XLT, the detail shot with the 585mc Pro camera and the colour shot with the Canon EOS RP.
This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image from 13 November 2024 shows the Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano eruption on the island of Flores in southern Indonesia.
Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki started spewing ash and smoke on 4 November 2024. It has, so far, killed at least ten people and forced authorities to issue large-scale evacuations. The volcanic ash cloud also caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled. The image clearly depicts the huge plume of ash and smoke spewing from the volcano and drifting westwards.
Laki Laki is one of two adjacent stratovolcanoes on Mount Lewotobi. The volcano summits, which are less than 2 km apart, are known locally as the husband-and-wife mountains. Laki Laki means man, while its taller and broader spouse to its southeast is called Perempuan, or woman. While Perempuan has been dormant for decades, Laki Laki is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia.
The country is prone to earthquakes, landslides and volcanic activity because it sits along the 'Ring of Fire', a continuous string of volcanoes and fault lines circling the Pacific Ocean.
The Copernicus Sentinel-2’s shortwave infrared channels, that detect heat sources, have been used in the processing of this image to display the activity on the volcano. The lava flowing from the crater is highlighted in orange and red.
Satellite data are an excellent means to monitor eruptions. Once an eruption begins, optical and radar instruments can capture the lava flows, mudslides, ground fissures and earthquakes.
Furthermore, atmospheric sensors can identify and measure the gases and aerosols released by the eruption, follow the spread and movement of volcanic plumes, and help to assess the environmental impact and possible hazards to aviation.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2024), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich safely tucked up in the Falcon 9 rocket fairing being rolled out to the launch pad at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US. Once launched, this new mission will take the role of radar altimetry reference mission, continuing the long-term record of measurements of sea-surface height started in 1992 by the French–US Topex Poseidon and then the Jason series of satellite missions.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
On 21 November, the Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite lifted off from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, US. This is the view inside ESA mission control in Darmstadt, Germany, during launch.
The Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite is the first of two identical satellites to provide critical measurements of sea-level change. Since sea-level rise is a key indicator of climate change, accurately monitoring the changing height of the sea surface over decades is essential for climate science, for policy-making and, ultimately, for protecting the lives of those in low-lying regions at risk. Once in orbit and commissioned, this new mission will take the role of radar altimetry reference mission, continuing the long-term record of measurements of sea-surface height started in 1992 by the French–US Topex Poseidon and then the Jason series of satellite missions.
The Copernicus Sentinel-6 mission is a true example of international cooperation. While Sentinel-6 is one of the European Union’s family of Copernicus missions, its implementation is the result of the unique collaboration between ESA, NASA, Eumetsat and NOAA, with contribution from the French space agency CNES.
Read more about the Copernicus Sentinel-6 mission.
Credits: ESA/J Mai
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Albania’s capital Tirana and its surroundings.
The area features a series of mountain ranges that run northwest to southeast, separated by wide valleys. In this image, captured in January 2025, some peaks are blanketed with snow.
Fertile plains covered by farmland stretch along the Adriatic coast. This is the most important agricultural and industrial region of the country — and the most densely populated.
Visible as a grey area in the centre of the image, Tirana lies at the end of a plain, enclosed on three sides by mountains and hills, about 27 km east of the Adriatic coast. It is the country’s largest city and main industrial centre.
There are a number of artificial lakes in and around the city, including lakes Tirana, Farka, Paskuqan, and Tapizes. Farka Lake is the emerald green water body southeast of Tirana. Visible as a dark green area to its west, the Grand Park of Tirana includes an artificial lake and many other landmarks, such as the Saint Procopius Church, the Presidential Palace, the zoo and the botanical garden.
Moving north, we can identify the u-shaped lake Paskuqan and Lake Tapizes next to the runways of Tirana International Airport.
Around 25 km east of Tirana is Mt Dajti National Park. Dotted with canyons, waterfalls, caves and lakes, it is home to a great diversity of ecosystems. Beech, oak and pine forests grow on the mountainside, while the higher slopes have little vegetation. Due to the panoramic view of Tirana and its plain, Mount Dajti is also referred to as the Balcony of Tirana.
The national park includes one of Tirana's main water sources, Lake Bovilla, a 4.6 sq km reservoir, which appears as the largest emerald-green body of water in the image. Its water level varies during the year and can rise by 7–10 m during the rainy, winter months.
Other urban centres visible in this image are Durrës, Albania’s largest and most important port, and Kavajë, located on the coastal plain just south of the Bay of Durrës.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2025), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The Copernicus Sentinel-2A satellite takes us over part of the Great Barrier Reef off Australia’s northeast coast on 1 April 2017.
Click on the box in the lower-right corner to view this image at its full 10 m resolution directly in your browser.
Extending more than 2000 km and covering an area of some 350 000 sq km, it is the planet's biggest single structure made by living organisms, called coral polyps.
Despite its name, it is not a single reef but contains nearly 3000 different reefs. The reef is home to over 1500 tropical fish species, 400 types of coral, more than 200 species of bird, 5000 species of mollusc, 500 species of seaweed and six species of sea turtle. It is also a breeding area for humpback whales.
In recognition of its significance, the reef was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 and is the world’s most protected marine area.
Coral reefs worldwide are increasingly under threat from coral bleaching. This happens when algae living in the corals’ tissues, which capture the Sun’s energy and are essential to coral survival, are expelled owing to high water temperatures.
The whitening coral may die, with subsequent effects on the reef ecosystem, and thus fisheries, regional tourism and coastal protection.
The corals of the Great Barrier Reef have now suffered two bleaching events in successive years. Experts are very concerned about the capacity for reef survival under the increased frequency of these global warming-induced events.
Credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2017), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission shows us an amazing view of the tropical island of Tutuila, the largest in the American Samoa archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean.
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the US and is part of the Samoan Islands chain, situated some 4000 km southwest of Hawaii and about 3000 km northwest of New Zealand. The eastern part of the chain of islands forms the American Samoa, while the western part forms the independent state of Samoa.
American Samoa comprises five volcanic islands, Tutuila, Aunu'u, Tau, Ofu and Olosega, and two coral atolls, Rose and Swains.
Tutuila is a small, narrow island and home to many volcanic mountains. At 653 m, Mount Matafao, which lies in the centre of the island, is the highest. The mountain range, which cuts across the island, is rugged with steep cliffs dominating the northern part of the island. The south is flatter. Coral reefs create barriers to the open sea, resulting in lagoons, visible in turquoise, prominent off the southern coast.
Tutuila is home to the capital of American Samoa, Pago Pago, which lies on the deepest inlet that divides the island nearly in two. Served by a busy harbour, the Pago Pago urban area encompasses several villages and popular beaches. It also features part of the National Park of American Samoa, where thick tropical rainforest and pristine coral reefs are protected. The park is the only US national park in the South Pacific. About 10 km southwest of the city, the runways of the Pago Pago International Airport, partly built on a fringing reef, can be easily spotted in the image.
The small volcanic island off the southeast coast of Tutuila is Aunu’u. It covers about 1.5 sq km and features the Faimulivai Marsh, a freshwater marsh visible as a dark area on the eastern part of the island. A protected National Natural Landmark, the Faimulivai Marsh was formed from drainage of the low-lying Aunu’u Crater and is the largest such wetland in American Samoa.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2023), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO