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Observing the Earth

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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.

After being grounded on the ocean floor for well over four decades, the largest iceberg in the world is on the loose.

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures the colourful waters of two salty lakes in East Africa: Lake Natron in northern Tanzania and Lake Magadi in southern Kenya.

The North Channel, between Northern Ireland and Scotland, is featured in this false-colour radar image from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission.

One of the world’s most active volcanoes, Mount Etna, erupted on Sunday – spewing lava and clouds of ash high over the Mediterranean island of Sicily. This image, captured on 13 November by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission, has been processed using the mission’s shortwave-infrared bands to show the lava flow at the time of acquisition.

This image, from the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission on 1 November 2023, captures the colours of autumn over the Japanese archipelago.

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo, the largest natural body of water in South America.

What’s spookier than the ‘largest acid cauldron on Earth?’ In East Java, Indonesia, lies the Kawah Ijen Crater Lake – the world’s largest acidic lake, a chilling spectacle perfect for Halloween.

This rare, almost cloud-free view of the remote Elephant Island in Antarctica was captured in February 2023 by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

Like shining jewels in the water, ships passing through the Panama Canal, which cuts across Central America, have been captured in this Copernicus Sentinel-1 image.

The landscape around the city of Bentiu in South Sudan is featured in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image.

The heart of the Nueva Vizcaya Province on Luzon, the largest and most populated island of the Philippines, shows up brightly in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 false-colour image.

Part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field with its white glaciers and aquamarine lakes is featured in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image from 10 January 2023.

This summer, Europe experienced a relentless heatwave, fuelling wildfires in several countries. This Copernicus Sentinel-1 image shows the burn scars left by fires on the Greek island of Rhodes.

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features swirls of vivid, emerald green algal blooms in the Gulf of Finland.

A month after fires ravaged the island of Rhodes in July 2023, more fires have ripped through Greece this week as southern Europe swelters under a late summer heatwave. This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image shows the ongoing blaze near Alexandroupoli in the Evros region of northeast Greece – close to the Türkiye border.

With Portugal in the grip of a heatwave, a wildfire broke out on 5 August south of Odemira in the Alentejo region in southern Portugal. This image, captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite mission, shows the fire on 7 August.

Right on track: Aeolus reentry map

The Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission takes us over the Río de la Plata estuary between Argentina and Uruguay.

Rhodes wildfire forces thousands to flee

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image highlights the colours of autumn over the southern part of New York state in the US.

Reminiscent of an artist’s pallet, this striking false-colour image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission features Lake Abbe in northeast Ethiopia.

The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission captured this image of the powerful Cyclone Mocha on 13 May 2023 as it made its way across the Bay of Bengal heading northeast towards Bangladesh and Myanmar.

Rotterdam and part of the Zeeland province in southwest Netherlands are featured in this radar image acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-1.

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan.

Some of the most severe marine heat increases on Earth are occurring in the seas surrounding the UK and Ireland. Satellite measurements show that water temperatures in certain areas are above average for this time of year.

Copernicus Sentinel-3’s wide view captures the eastern edge of the Mediterranean and surrounding countries.

As climate change increases the risk of wildfires across the globe, the spate of fires that hit Canada in May and June suggest that 2023 is on course to be the country’s worst fire season to date. These fires not only pose a serious threat to human life, wildlife, the environment and property, they also affect air quality.

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Cook Strait, which separates New Zealand's North and South Islands.

From the Chugach Mountains on the right to the Cook Inlet on the left, this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features the varied landscape surrounding Anchorage, the largest and most populous city in the state of Alaska in the United States.

This radar image from Copernicus Sentinel-1 shows the city of São Paulo and part of the homonymous state in southeast Brazil.

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over Oslo, Norway’s capital and largest city, and host of the 2023 Global Space Conference on Climate Change, taking place on 23–25 May.

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features the Japanese island of Nishinoshima, in the northwest Pacific Ocean.

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over El Oued, in northeast Algeria, about 80 km west of the border with Tunisia.

Captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on 8 April 2023, this image shows Los Angeles and part of the hinterland in Southern California.

The historic centre of Rome, Italy’s capital city, is featured in this image captured on 28 March 2023.

South Korea’s capital city, Seoul, and surroundings are featured in this image, captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission on 21 February 2023.

Part of southern Italy is featured in this wintery image, captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image features the diverse landscape surrounding Monterrey, the capital of the northeast state of Nuevo León, Mexico.

Botswana’s Okavango Delta – the world’s largest inland delta – is featured in this multitemporal radar image, captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission.

The icy landscape of Graham Coast, which lies on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, is featured in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image.

This Copernicus Sentinel-2 image shows Poyang Lake in China’s Jiangxi Province during winter.

The Triple Frontier, a region where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet, is featured in this false-colour image, captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

The Liverpool Land peninsula, on the east coast of Greenland, is featured in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image.

Agricultural fields that surround the cities of Lund and Malmö in Sweden are pictured in this image, captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

Deadly wildfires continue to rage in south-central Chile destroying hundreds of thousands of hectares of land across the country. Satellite images captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission on 4 February show the ongoing fires and heatwave in South America.

Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, is featured in this image, captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

Europe has kicked off the new year with an intense winter heatwave. The warm temperatures and lack of snowfall in the Alps has left several ski resorts with little or no snow. The difference in snow cover is visible in these Copernicus Sentinel-2 images captured in January 2022 compared to January 2023.

This Copernicus Sentinel-3 image shows the wide-coverage of snowfall in the Alps, which hopefully bodes well for the coming year.

Europe’s all-new weather satellite takes to the skies

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