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Observing the Earth Archive

Observing the Earth

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This false-colour, polarised image from Copernicus Sentinel-1 shows us the surface of the sea beneath the clouds, as seen by the satellite’s radar instrument. The sea conditions reflect the strong winds as Typhoon Surigae passes over.

This image of the Venetian Lagoon in northern Italy was acquired by the IRIDE satellites on 17 May 2026.

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, acquired on 25 August 2026, shows an area of the Andean Altiplano in southern Bolivia near the border with Chile.

Copernicus Sentinel-3 captured a plume from the eruption of Anak Krakatau on Saturday, 5 September.

FLEX and Sentinel-3C being hoisted into the launch tower

Fuelling Sentinel-3C

These Copernicus Sentinel-2 images over the Danube north of Budapest show how the river’s level has fallen to a record low in Hungary due to a severe drought in central Europe.

This colourful radar image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission features New Orleans and the delta of the Mississippi River, one the largest rivers in North America.

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 26 July, shows a zoomed-in view over ESA's Cebreros ground station, which lies within the areas heavily affected by the wildfires in Spain.

These images by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, captured on 26 July, show the area to the west of Bordeaux, France, where wildfires continue to burn countryside, fanned by wind and heatwave conditions.

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Australia’s southwestern corner in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia.

The FLEX satellite, ESA’s next Earth Explorer mission, has been removed from its container packaging at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, where it will be prepared for its upcoming launch.

The next satellite in the EU’s Copernicus Earth observation satellite system, Sentinel-3C, has been unpacked from its container at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features part of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau in western Africa.

The MTG-I2 satellite has undergone a 'fit check' with its launch vehicle adapter to ensure that everything fits correctly before the actual launch

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures Canada’s Great Bear Lake in striking colours.

The Grand Canyon, a stunning natural feature in the landscape of Arizona, US, is featured in these two satellite views.

FLEX and Sentinel-3C bound for launch site

This image shows the sea surface temperature anomaly detected in the Mediterranean Sea on 29 June 2026.

The map is an interferogram derived from the comparison of Sentinel-1 data on two dates: on the 18 June before the earthquakes and on 25 June a day after.

These Copernicus Sentinel-2 images show agricultural development in the desert of southern Egypt, close to the border with Sudan.

This image of land surface temperature was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission on Wednesday, 23 June.

This image of Earth, with the day-night terminator line clearly visible, was captured by the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) mission

ESA’s Earth from Space series reaches its 1000th image with a return to the vibrant waters of southern Florida, Cuba and the Bahamas – the same region featured in the very first edition in 2004.

The Meteosat Third Generation-Imager-2 (MTG-I2) satellite has arrived at Pariacabo harbour in French Guiana, ready to be transported to Europe’s Spaceport.

On World Environment Day, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission brings us an amazing view from space of Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, hosting this year’s celebration.

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features the Batagaika Crater in Siberia. This is the biggest permafrost crater in the world, caused by melting permafrost and also known as a ‘mega-slump’.

The Meteosat Third Generation-Imager2 satellite sets sail from France to French Guiana

Europe is in the middle of a heatwave – Copernicus Sentinel-3 captured this image on Tuesday 26 May

The sandy and rocky terrain of the Sahara desert in central Algeria is featured in these images captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

This image, captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2, gives us a glimpse of Ecuador’s capital, Quito, sprawling for 40 km along this high-altitude valley in the Andes.

Part of the rugged and deeply indented coast of northeastern Greenland is featured in this radar image captured by Copernicus Sentinel-1.

Captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on 21 April 2026, this image shows a double bloom in the Netherlands: an array of vibrant colours in the tulip fields as well as the blue-greenish swirls of phytoplankton in the North Sea.

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image highlights a distinctive cloud formation north of the Canary Islands of Tenerife and La Gomera.

This image from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures the coast of Gabon in striking colours.

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image captures an active lava flow on the Piton de la Fournaise volcano on Réunion Island.

In an unusual perspective for an Earth-observing satellite, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures this image of Earth’s only natural satellite.

The image from Copernicus Sentinel-3 shows a Saharan dust storm over the Atlantic Ocean, with the Canary Islands visible off the coast of Morocco.

Western Australia’s Kimberley region is featured in this double view from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

Ahead of the World Day for Glaciers, Copernicus Sentinel-2 captures the diverse landscape of western Norway with its jagged fjords, fertile valleys, mountain plateaus and Jostedalsbreen, the largest glacier in continental Europe.

This image from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission shows us the maritime traffic passing through the Øresund Strait in 2025.

These two views from Copernicus Sentinel-2 reveal the landscape transformation in the area around Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures the icy landscape of Terra Nova Bay in East Antarctica.

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over south-central Morocco, near the city of Ouarzazate.

For Valentine’s Day, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission sends love from space, capturing the heart-shaped oasis of Faiyum, just south of Cairo, Egypt.

With the 2026 Winter Olympics officially opening today, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission brings us a striking view of northern Italy, highlighting several key Olympic venues.

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over part of the coastal area of Rudong County on China’s eastern seaboard.

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us at the Brazilian-Bolivian border over part of the Pantanal region, a unique ecosystem, home to an impressive variety of plants and wildlife.

This image, captured by Copernicus Sentinel-3 on 18 January 2026, shows clouds of smoke from wildfires on the coast of Chile.

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