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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
Copernicus Crater photographed on June 14, 2016. Right image was using my Canon 6D + Meade LX90 12" + Televue Powermate 5x. Left image using the same setup with the addition of the 5x digital zoom offered in the software package Backyard EOS. Each was the best 5% of 4000 frames.
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
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-2 mission takes us over one of Earth’s most extreme environments: the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia.
Located in northeastern Ethiopia, near the border with Eritrea, the Danakil Depression lies between the Danakil Alps on the east and the Ethiopian Plateau on the west. It is a plain formed by the continental drift of three tectonic plates, thinning Earth’s crust as they pull apart.
This tectonic setting, called the Afar Triple Junction, is responsible for shaping the region's diverse geological features. Due to its unique geology, Danakil’s landscape features a combination of salt flats, desert shrubland and active volcanoes, producing hot, acidic springs with vibrantly coloured mineral pools.
Danakil is known for being one of the lowest, hottest and driest places on Earth. It sits at an average of 120 m below sea level, with annual temperatures sometimes reaching above 50°C. It receives very little rainfall, with most of it evaporating quickly.
This false-colour image from 7 August 2025 shows the northern part of the Danakil Depression.
The various shades of green reflect the different surface types, showing evidence of ancient marine and river systems across the whole image. Lighter greens denote older geology, while darker tones indicate younger terrains.
The pink expanse denotes a complex hydrothermal system formed by the hot springs and the acidic ponds in the area. The green feature at its centre is Dallol, a depression hosting a cinder cone volcano. Dallol is frequently referred to as one of the most inhospitable and hottest inhabited places on Earth.
At the bottom of the image, two lakes – Karum and, further south, Bakili – can be seen in black, as the image was processed using Sentinel-2’s near-infrared channel which makes water bodies appear dark or black.
Southwest of Lake Karum rises Gada Ale, a 287-m-high stratovolcano built of lava and ash. Its gently sloping sides of basaltic lava appear in a dark hue, with the youngest flows being the darkest colours.
Due to its extreme conditions, visiting and studying this area can be quite challenging. From their vantage point in space, Earth orbserving satellites, such as Copernicus Sentinel-2, are the perfect tool to systematically image and monitor such remote and unique environments.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2025), processed by ESA; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
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
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.
Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich safely tucked up in the Falcon 9 rocket on 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
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
This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image captures the borders between North and South Dakota and Minnesota blanketed with snow and ice.
This area is part of the Red River Valley, one of the most fertile river valleys in the world. This is clearly visible in the image, where the left side is dominated by a vast expanse of agricultural fields. Their geometric patterns can be seen in shades of brown, or white where they are blanketed with snow.
Agriculture, which includes soybeans, corn, wheat and sugar beets, plays a key role in the local economy.
Formed by the confluence of the Bois de Sioux River from the south and the Otter Tail River from the west, the winding course of the Red River of the North can be seen in white across the image. The river flows for over 700 km northwards, marking the border between North Dakota (left) and Minnesota (right).
Visible in white where the two rivers meet, the twin cities of Wahpeton, North Dakota, and Breckenridge, Minnesota, lie on opposite sides of the Red River of the North. Wahpeton is just 75 km south of Fargo, making this snowy territory familiar to fans of the Fargo film and series.
On the right, the image features a blend of agricultural fields, wetlands and small lakes, that appear to be fully or partially frozen. The largest feature here is the Otter Tail Lake, covering about 55 sq km.
Sentinel-2 delivers imagery and data needed for Europe’s environmental Copernicus programme. Data are used for a wide range of applications, including monitoring land use and changes, land management, agriculture, forestry and natural disasters (floods, forest fires, landslides and erosion).
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2025), processed by ESA; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission captured sulphur dioxide emissions from Mount Etna’s eruption on 2 June 2025, when a massive plume of ash, gas, and rock suddenly erupted from Europe’s largest active volcano. Mount Etna is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, but there hasn’t been an eruption of this magnitude since 2014, according to the national Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology Observatory.
A capture from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission offers an optical view of the same eruption.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2025), processed by ESA; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
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
Copernicus is the most ambitious Earth observation programme to date, and it is providing accurate, timely and easily accessible information to improve the management of the environment, understand and mitigate the effects of climate change, and ensure civil security.
ESA is developing a new family of satellites, called Sentinel, specifically for the operational needs of the Copernicus programme. The six Sentinel missions are providing a unique set of observations, starting with all-weather, day-and-night radar images from Sentinel-1A, launched in April 2014, and multispectral high-resolution images for land monitoring from Sentinel-2A, launched in June 2015. The first Sentinel-3 satellite, an ocean and ice-sensing mission, will be launched next month.
Each mission is based on a constellation of two satellites to provide robust coverage for Copernicus services.
As part of an extended ‘ground segment’ responsible for flight control and for distributing the Sentinels’ crucial data, mission control teams work at ESA’s ESOC operations centre in Darmstadt, Germany, on daily operations.
This week, the Sentinel-1 team began intensive simulation training for the launch of Sentinel-1B, planned for April.
Working under Sentinel-1 Spacecraft Operations Manager Ian Shurmer, engineers are being exercised through all aspects of the critical launch and early operations phase. This will ensure, come launch day, that experts from flight control, flight dynamics, ground stations and software systems are ready to work together in a tightly integrated ‘team of teams’.
Credit: ESA
Tonight's 82% Moon, imaged with a Celestron 2000mm SCT Nexstar 8SE f/10 scope and a ZWO CMOS 174MC colour camera.
EQ6 Mount with Rowan belt drives.
Stacked in AutoStackert!3 with separate processing of luminosity and colour components.
Luminosity sharpened with wavelets in RegiStax6 and colour saturation boosted in Photoshop.
Seeing conditions were good.
Generally speaking, blue areas are rich in Titanium and brown rich in Iron.
Copernicus is a classical complex crater with terraced walls that drop 3.8km from rim to floor. It is 96km diameter. An extensive ray system of ejecta is well demonstrated in colour images.
Eratosthenes is the smaller complex crater above and to the right.
Settings on the 174MC were:
Frames captured=3000
File type=SER
FPS (avg.)=14
Shutter=8.500ms
Gain=108 (27%)
Gamma=55
Sensor temperature=-1.0 °C
Best 10% stacked in AS!3
The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission takes us over part of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso deep in the Amazon interior.
This image combines three separate radar images from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission taken about two years apart to show change in crops and land cover over time.
Unlike images from satellites carrying optical or ‘camera-like’ instruments, images acquired with imaging radar are interpreted by studying the intensity of the backscatter radar signal, which is related to the roughness of the ground.
Here, the first image, from 2 May 2015, is picked out in blue; the second, from 16 March 2017, picks out changes in green; and the third from 18 March 2019 in red; areas in grey depict little or no change between 2015 and 2019.
Ironically, Mato Grosso means ‘great woods’, but, as these coloured rectangular shapes portray, much of the tropical forest has been cut down and given over to farming. While this image only shows a small area, Mato Grosso is one of Brazil’s top cattle-producing and crop-producing states, with the main crops including corn, soya and wheat.
However, although the state has one of the highest historical rates of deforestation in Amazonian Brazil, deforestation is slowing and Mato Grosso is now said to be a global leader in climate-change solutions.
As an advanced radar mission, Copernicus Sentinel-1 can image the surface of Earth through cloud and rain and regardless of whether it is day or night. This makes it ideal for monitoring areas that tend to be covered by cloud such as rainforests.
This image is also featured on the Earth from Space video programme.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2015-19), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over palm oil plantations in East Kalimantan - the Indonesian part of the island Borneo.
Palm oil is the most widely-produced tropical edible oil. It’s used in a vast array of products – from ice cream and chocolates, to cosmetics such as make up and soap, to biofuel. Not only is it versatile, palm oil is also a uniquely productive crop. Harvested all year-round, oil palm trees produce up to nine times more oil per unit area than other major oil crops.
To meet global demand, palm oil trees are grown on vast industrial plantations – leading to acres of rainforest being cut down. Between 1980 and 2014, global palm oil production increased from 4.5 million tonnes to 70 million tonnes, and is expected to increase.
Indonesia is the largest producer of palm oil, followed by Malaysia. Together they account for 84% of the world’s palm oil production.
To produce palm oil in large enough quantities to meet growing demand, farmers clear large areas of tropical rainforest to make room for palm plantations. This leads to a loss of habitat for species such as the orangutan – declared as critically endangered by the WWF. In general, burning forests to make room for the crop is also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.
In this image, captured on 15 February 2019, the various stages of the deforestation process are clearly visible – the green patches in the plantations are the well-established palm oil farms, while the light brown patches show the newly-harvested land. The surrounding lush rainforest is visible in dark green.
Copernicus Sentinel-2 is a two-satellite mission, used mostly to track changes in the way land is being used, as well as monitoring the health of vegetation. Each satellite carries a high-resolution camera that images Earth’s surface in 13 spectral bands.
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
The Copernicus Sentinel-3B satellite cocooned in its rocket fairing ready to be placed on the train that will take it to the launch pad.
Sentinel-3B will ride into space on a Rockot on 25 April at 17:57 GMT (19:57 CEST). In orbit it will join its identical twin, Sentinel-3A, which was launched in 2016. This pairing of satellites provides the best coverage and data delivery for Copernicus. Sentinel-3B is the seventh Sentinel satellite to be launched for Copernicus. Its launch will complete the constellation of the first set of Sentinel missions for Europe’s Copernicus programme.
Credits: ESA–S. Corvaja
The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission takes us over part of the Dutch province of Flevoland – the newest province in the Netherlands and one of the largest land reclamation projects in the world.
With almost a third of the country lying below sea level, the Netherlands is famously known as a ‘low country,’ and has a long history of land reclamation.
One reclamation project resulted in Flevoland. After a major flood it was decided to tame the Zuiderzee, a large, shallow inlet of the North Sea, to improve flood protection and also create additional land for agricultural use.
The project entailed the creation of land known as polders. The ‘Noordoostpolder,’ or the Northeast polder is the focus of this image. Over the years, the region has developed to become a home to a modern and innovative agricultural industry. The province produces predominantly apples, cereals, potatoes and flowers – with each colourful patch in the image representing a different crop.
This image combines three radar acquisitions from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission taken about two months apart to show change in crop and land conditions over time. The first image from 8 May 2018 is associated with red, the second from 7 July depicts changes in green, and the third from 5 September has been linked to blue.
Along the dikes of the Ijsselmeer, west of the Noordoostpolder, lies one of the largest wind farms in the Netherlands. The strong, almost star-shaped, reflections that can be seen near the shore are around 86 wind turbines. The wind farm is said to generate approximately 1.4 billion kWh of clean renewable energy per year – comparable to the power consumption of over 400 000 households.
Images acquired with radar are interpreted by studying the intensity of the backscatter radar signal, which is related to the roughness of the ground. Cities and towns are visible in white owing to the stronger reflection of the signal. Emmeloord can be seen in the centre of the Noordoostpolder, as well as several farms that appear as bright white dots along the roads.
This image 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
The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission shows us a rare, cloud-free view of Iceland captured on 17 May 2025.
In its remote location in the North Atlantic Ocean, Iceland is the westernmost European nation and one of the most northerly inhabited places on the planet. The island is famous for its scenic landscape, including volcanoes, glaciers, lakes, lava fields, hot springs and more than 4800 km of coastline.
Iceland’s climate makes it an ideal habitat for sparse grassland, extensive bogs and moors, rather than lush forests. It would therefore be difficult to differentiate vegetation and bare ground in a true-colour satellite image.
This false-colour image has been processed using the near-infrared channel of Sentinel-3’s Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI). It highlights vegetation in shades of red and makes it easier to distinguish between vegetated areas and bare ground or solidified lava fields which appear brownish. Darker or even black areas denote fresher lava flows.
More than 11% of the island is covered by glaciers – more than on the whole of continental Europe. The large, white area on the eastern part of the island is the Vatnajökull National Park, home to the Vatnajökull Glacier. With an area of around 8400 sq km and an average ice thickness of more than 900 m, Vatnajökull is the biggest glacier in Europe.
The white, circular patch in the centre is Hofsjökull, the country’s third largest glacier and its largest active volcano. The elongated white area west of Hofsjökull is Langjökull, Iceland’s second largest ice cap.
Water bodies such as rivers and glacial lakes appear as emerald green shapes scattered around the island. The colour is due to sediment in the water, which then flows into the ocean, dyeing its dark blue waters in hues of green visible along the coasts.
At top-left, light blue swirls are visible in the sea off the coast of Greenland. These are small sea-ice fragments blown by the wind and ocean currents.
This image was captured during an unusual heatwave that hit Iceland from 13-22 May 2025. On 17 May, Sentinel-3 was also able to obtain an accurate image of the land surface temperature, using data from the mission's Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer instrument.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2025), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite takes us over the city of Valencia and its stunning blue coast. Situated on the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula, Valencia is the third largest city in Spain after Madrid and Barcelona.
Click on the box in the lower-right corner to view this image at its full 10 m resolution directly in your browser.
The city is visible in the centre of the image, flanked by the Mediterranean Sea on one side and overlooked by the mountains of Sierra Calderona to the north. As a significant cultural centre for the country, it is home to the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences complex, which also hosts Oceanografic – the biggest aquarium in Europe.
Just 10 km south of the city, this true-colour image shows us the Albufera freshwater lagoon in green. Separated by a narrow strip of coastline featuring sand dunes and Mediterranean pine forest, three canals connect the lagoon and surrounding wetlands with the sea.
The area is home to huge numbers of both migratory and resident birds, including rare species such as Eurasian Bittern. The area is also thought to be the home of the world-famous Paella dish, with the traditional rice used for the dish grown in the surrounding fields since the 19th century.
On the right of the image, amidst the waves and popcorn clouds, we can see a boat, possibly travelling to the port of Valencia from one of the nearby Balearic Islands – a popular route for tourists and residents of the city alike.
The region of Valencia is famous for the diversity of its landscapes, covering mountains, beaches, wetlands and semi-arid desert environments within a total area of less than 25 0000 sq km. This diversity is clearly highlighted in the Sentinel-2 image.
Sentinel-2 data can be used to monitor agriculture, biodiversity, and coastal and inland waters for Europe’s Copernicus environmental monitoring programme.
This satellite image will be shown at IGARRS – the International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, held in Valencia from 22–27 July. The theme for this year’s symposium highlights the pressing demands for ‘observing, understanding and forecasting the dynamics of our planet’.
This image, which was captured on 9 August 2017, is also featured on the Earth from Space programme.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2017), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Earth put on a real show for us this weekend ☁️
Check out these stunning images from space!
These Von Karman vortices were captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellite near the Canary Islands over the last couple of days ️
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia.
Situated in the central region of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh serves as the nation’s legislative, financial, administrative, diplomatic and commercial hub, home to over seven million inhabitants.
Covering an area of around 1550 sq km, the city sits at approximately 600 m above sea level on the eastern part of the Najd plateau in the Arabian Peninsula. Like much of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh has a desert climate with extreme summer temperatures that can reach up to 50°C.
The image prominently features the city’s grid-like street system, which consists of square blocks measuring around two km one each side, forming an extensive network across the urban landscape.
Riyadh is served by the King Khalid International Airport, located approximately 35 km north of the city, visible in the top left of the image.
Moving southeast, the flower-like pattern of the Sand Sports Park construction site stands out against the orange, sandy terrain. Spanning more than 17 million sq m, the park is part of the large-scale Sports Boulevard Project, a linear park extending 135 km across the city. The project will connect over 50 sports sites and feature cycling and pedestrian pathways, equestrian and hiking trails, as well as several entertainment venues.
The city also has several large stadiums, including the King Fahd International Stadium, identifiable by its white circular structure, which can be spotted by zooming in south of the Sand Sports Park.
Towards the south, the industrial part of the city can be identified with bright white rooftops.
This image, captured on 14 September 2024, is part of the stunning initial set of images delivered by Copernicus Sentinel-2C, the third satellite in the Sentinel-2 mission. Sentinel-2C joined its twin satellites in orbit on 5 September 2024, to ensure the continuous delivery of high-resolution imagery for the Copernicus programme.
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 Santa Cruz Department of Bolivia, where part of the tropical dry forest has been cleared for agricultural use.
Since the 1980s, the area has been rapidly deforested owing to a large agricultural development effort where people from the Andean high plains (the Altiplano region) have been relocated to the lowlands of Bolivia.
The relatively flat lowlands and abundant rainfall make this region suitable for farming. In fact, the local climate allows farmers to benefit from two growing seasons. The region has been transformed from dense forest into a patterned expanse of agricultural land. This deforestation method, common in this part of Bolivia, is characterised by the radial patterns that can be seen clearly in the image.
Each patterned field is approximately 20 sq km and each side is around 2.5 km long.
Small settlements can be seen in the centre of each individual field in the image, which typically contain a church, a school and a soccer field. These communities are joined by a road network depicted by the straight lines that bisect the radial fields and connect the adjacent areas.
Meandering streams and rivers can be seen flowing through the fields. The long, thin strips of land in the top right of the image are most likely cultivated soybean fields.
Rainforests worldwide are being destroyed at an alarming rate. This is of great concern as they play an important role in global climate, and are home to a wide variety of plants and animals.
Because of their unique perspective from space, Earth observation satellites are instrumental in providing comprehensive information on the full extent and rate of deforestation, which is particularly useful for monitoring remote areas.
This composite image was created by combing three separate ‘Normalised Difference Vegetation Index’ images from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission. The first image, from 8 April 2019, is visible in red; the second from 22 June 2019, can be seen in green; and the third from 5 September 2019 can be seen in blue. The Normalised Difference Vegetation Index is widely used in remote sensing as it gives scientists an accurate measure of healthy and status of plant growth.
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
Taken from Oxfordshire, UK on 8th October 2019. Taken with a William Optics 70mm refractor and ZWO ASI120MC camera with Powermate 5x Barlow. Mounted on an EQ5 Pro mount on a permanent pier, tracking at lunar speed.
2,000 frame video shot, the best 70% was stacked with Autostakkert! 3, processed in Lightroom, Fast Stone Image Viewer and Focus Magic. I was imaging between 20:30 – 21:20 BST. The seeing was not great and the Moon was quite low in the sky, but I’m always amazed at what this little camera can achieve on such a small refractor!
The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission takes us over northern Brazil, where the Amazon River meets the Atlantic Ocean.
Originating in the Andes, the Amazon River flows east, traversing six South American countries before reaching the northeast coast of Brazil, where it empties into the Atlantic. The sediment-laden river appears brown as it flows to the open ocean in the upper centre of the image.
The coast is surrounded by a muddy-brownish plume of suspended sediment, carried from upstream to the maze of channels constituting the 270-km-wide mouth of the Amazon. Discharge from the Amazon River, the Amazon plume, accounts for around 20% of the global input of freshwater into the ocean from Earth's land surfaces.
The Amazon has over 1000 tributaries, some of which are visible as thin, winding lines entering the river from the south, including the Tapajos River to the west and, further downstream, the Xingu River. The dark colour of these sediment-poor tributaries contrasts with the brownish sediment-rich Amazon waters.
The Tapajós-Xingu area is an important moist forest ecoregion. However, the Transamazon Highway, discernible as a brown line traversing this area, has spurred urbanisation.
The colour of the land varies, ranging from the deep green of dense, untouched vegetation to various tones of brown, highlighting the contrast between the rainforest and sprawling cultivation ̶ the fishbone-like patterns particularly visible along the highway.
Light green hues across the image denote agricultural areas, which were once covered by rainforest. The somewhat geometric shapes, which appear dark green and brown, result from forest clear-cutting.
Rainforests worldwide are disappearing at an alarming rate, a matter of great concern owing to their pivotal role in the global climate, and their status as habitats for a wide range of plants, animals and insects.
With their unique view from space, Earth observation satellites like Copernicus Sentinel-3 are instrumental in highlighting the vulnerability of rainforests by documenting, on a large scale, the extent and damage due to deforestation, particularly in remote regions.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2022), processed by ESA; CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Copernicus is ready for his kisses... Who could resist this fluffy little fella... He sure is turning into a Big beautiful Boy... He is a Real Love Bug too & is a foot tripper LOL... He sees me get up & he immediately jumps right up full speed gets in front of me & putt putt putts along, reminds me of that cartoon Droopy Dog with his motorcycle revs it up with a wheelie then putts along... LOL
The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over a section of Italy’s heel in the southern part of the boot-shaped peninsula.
The area featured comprises part of the Puglia region at the top, and part of Basilicata in the bottom left and is bound by the Adriatic Sea (top) and Ionian Sea (bottom). The light blue of the water, especially along the Adriatic, is caused by sediment being carried into the sea by rivers and then spread along the coast by currents.
Various nature reserves can be seen as dark green strips along the western Ionian coast, with the largest being the Aleppo pine forest of the Stornara Nature Reserve. It takes its name from the many starlings that migrate there during winter.
Many patches of agricultural fields can be seen throughout the image. Thanks to the Mediterranean climate, the region’s food sector is one of the strongest aspects of the economy.
Grey dots of different sizes across the image denote urban areas. Major cities visible on the Adriatic coast include Puglia’s main city, Bari, in the top left, and the port city of Brindisi in the bottom right.
Known as the ‘Florence of the South’, the largest urban sprawl on the bottom right of the image is Lecce, renowned for its fascinating, historical Baroque-style buildings. Another important coastal city is Taranto on the Ionian coast.
Within Basilicata, the city of Matera can be seen north of the San Giuliano Lake, its elongated aqua-green water is visible in the left of the image. Famous for its cave-like houses cut into the rock, Matera also hosts an important space hub, including one of the ground stations for the reception and processing of Copernicus Sentinel data for ESA.
On the Adriatic coast, halfway between Brindisi and Bari, lies Borgo Egnazia, currently hosting the G7 Summit. The informal forum brings together Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, UK and US, as well as the Presidents of the European Council and Commission representing the European Union, to discuss about selected economic, financial and environmental topics.
Credits: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2024), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
My Sweet baby Copernicus looks just as cute in Black & White...
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) was a mathematician and astronomer who proposed that the sun was stationary in the center of the universe and the earth revolved around it. Disturbed by the failure of Ptolemy's geocentric model of the universe to follow Aristotle's requirement for the uniform circular motion of all celestial bodies and determined to eliminate Ptolemy's equant, an imaginary point around which the bodies seemed to follow that requirement, Copernicus decided that he could achieve his goal only through a heliocentric model. He thereby created a concept of a universe in which the distances of the planets from the sun bore a direct relationship to the size of their orbits. At the time Copernicus's heliocentric idea was very controversial; nevertheless, it was the start of a change in the way the world was viewed, and Copernicus came to be seen as the initiator of the Scientific Revolution.
When we got him it was late at night & I wanted him to have a name that went with astrology, so my hubby thought of Copernicus after Nicolaus Copernicus, very intellegent man...