Earth from space: image of the week

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Giza, Egypt
18/04/2025

This very high-resolution image captures the Egyptian city of Giza and its surrounding area, including the world-famous Giza Pyramid Complex.

The third largest city in Egypt by area, Giza is on the west bank of the Nile River, which flows north on the right of the image, separating Giza on the west from the capital Cairo to the east. A number of bridges can be seen connecting the two cities.

Known as the father of African rivers, the Nile is the longest river in the world. The fertile land near its banks has always allowed the Egyptians to grow produce and thrive in the arid desert.

In this image, the green agricultural fields stand out against the grey of Giza’s dense conurbation. To the southwestern edge of the city, yellow and ochre denote the dry sand of the desert and the Giza Plateau, hosting some of the most impressive ancient monuments in the world.

The distinctive shape of the Great Pyramids of Giza can be observed in the lower part of the image, half lit by the Sun and casting distinctive shadows. The northernmost and largest pyramid seen here is that of Khufu, or Cheops, and is also the oldest of the three, built in around 2600 BC. The middle pyramid was built for the pharaoh Khafre and the southernmost and smallest of the three monuments is that of Menkaure, built in around 2510 BC.

Zooming in, smaller pyramids can be seen adjacent to the Cheops and the Menkaure pyramids. These were burial sites for other members of the royal family. The square structures of mortuary temples are also visible near each pyramid. East of the Khafre pyramid, the Great Sphinx can be recognised, one of Egypt’s most famous landmarks.

About 2 km northwest of the pyramids lies the Grand Egyptian Museum, visible as a white, rhomboid structure surrounded by large plazas filled with date palms. Occupying a 50-hectare plot of land, the museum is the largest archaeological museum in the world.

This image was acquired by the Vision-1 mission, which provides images with a resolution of up to 0.87 m. Vision-1 is part of ESA’s Third Party Missions programme, which means ESA uses its multi-mission ground systems and expertise to acquire, process, distribute and archive data from a wide range of satellite missions developed and operated by other agencies.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: French Guiana
25/04/2025

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.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: World’s biggest iceberg
02/05/2025

The Ocean and Land Colour Instrument on Copernicus Sentinel-3 captured this image of Earth’s biggest iceberg, A23a, on 5 April 2025.

The ice mass is currently lodged on the seabed 73 km from the remote island of South Georgia, which can be seen just poking out from beneath the cloud cover.

Although the size of the island is not clearly visible in this image, it is only marginally bigger than the iceberg. The A23a is estimated to cover an area of 3460 sq km – twice the size of Greater London in the UK. In comparison, the island of South Georgia is 3528 sq km.

An image of the berg was also featured by ESA in December 2023 when it was dislodged from the ocean floor and was pushed by currents away from the Antarctic. It initially calved from Filchner Ice Shelf in 1986. Since then, it has travelled more than 2000 km.

A23a has started to disintegrate and many smaller blocks of ice are visible in the dark blue ocean, particularly to the north of the berg. The disintegration is typical of icebergs that reach this far north and is caused by the warmer sea temperatures and weather conditions.

South Georgia is a mountainous island 170 km in length, with a central ridge that reaches a height of 2935 m. It lies in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 1400 km east of the Falkland Islands (Las Malvinas) and northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.

It is the largest of the South Georgia and South Sandwich archipelago, a British overseas territory and is home to a range of biodiversity, including penguins and seals, as well a British Antarctic Survey research station.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Northwest Sardinia, Italy
09/05/2025

Part of the Italian island of Sardinia is featured in this image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

With an area of about 24 090 sq km, Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily. It is situated about 200 km west of the Italian peninsula, a similar distance north of Tunisia, and is separated from the French island of Corsica by just 12 km.

The area pictured here covers a section of the province of Sassari in the northwestern part of the island, with the Sardinian Sea to the west and the Gulf of Asinara to the north.

The urban agglomeration of the city of Sassari can be seen as a brown and grey area near the centre of the image, about 10 km inland from the northern coast. Sassari lies at about 225 m above sea level on a wide plateau that slopes down towards the Gulf of Asinara. The city is surrounded by a green belt of agricultural fields and olive plantations.

The seaport serving Sassari is Porto Torres, lying on the coast along the Gulf of Asinara. The gulf is named after Asinara Island, visible at the northwest tip of the gulf. Once home to one of Italy’s top-security prisons, Asinara Island is now a protected marine and wildlife reserve.

Zooming in, it's interesting to note how the waters within the gulf appear calm compared to the rough waters of the open sea to the west, where distinct wave patterns can be clearly identified. The white colour all along the western coastline is caused by the big waves crashing against the rocky cliffs.

Moving south, two bays are visible at the bottom of the image: the smaller bay of Porto Conte and the larger bay of Alghero. Here, the city of Alghero extends along the coast, while the port of Fertilia lies  at the northern end of the bay. The runways of the Alghero-Fertilia Airport can be spotted just inland from Fertilia.

In the area between Alghero, Sassari and Porto Torres lies the plain of Nurra. Covering a surface of about 700 sq km, Nurra is the second-largest plain on the island, dominated in the image by agricultural fields, with a large section devoted to vineyards.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Svalbard Archipelago
16/05/2025

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission brings us this cloud-free view of Svalbard, a remote Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.

Located north of mainland Europe, Svalbard is roughly halfway between Norway and the North Pole. It is surrounded by four bodies of water: the Arctic Ocean, the Greenland Sea to its west, the Barents Sea to the east and the Norwegian Sea to the south.

The archipelago is dominated by rugged mountains, deeply indented fjords and numerous glaciers. The colourful shades of green in the waters along the coasts are likely due to sediment discharges, eroded by the flow of ice and then carried by meltwater into the sea.

Nine main islands make up the archipelago, which covers a total area of around 62 700 sq km. The largest is Spitsbergen, visible here in the left of the image, followed by Nordaustlandet to its top right, mainly covered by large ice caps, Edgeøya at the bottom right, and Barentsøya, north of Edgeøya.

Spitsbergen, which is around the same size as Switzerland, has a mountainous landscape, with elongated valleys and a jagged western coastline, shaped by glacial erosion and marine incursion. Its highest point is Mount Newton, around 1717 m, in the northeast.

Opening on Spitsbergen's north coast is Wijdefjorden, the longest fjord of the archipelago. It runs 108 km southwards, separating Andrée Land in the west from Margaretas Land in the east.

Spitsbergen is the only permanently populated island of the archipelago and Longyearbyen is the largest settlement. Near Longyearbyen sits the Svalbard Satellite Station – SvalSat for short. Its position enables it to track all 14 daily passes of polar-orbiting satellites. It has worked with a range of Earth observation missions including Aeolus, Swarm, CryoSat and Copernicus Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3.

This image was generated using multiple scans captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2 between June and September 2024. By choosing the cloud-free pixels over a long period of time, such clear, high-resolution mosaics can be created, which are especially valuable to overcome the persistent challenges of limited visibility, due to cloud cover and polar night, in the Svalbard area.

These multitemporal composites optimise land cover classification, glacier boundary delineation and vegetation mapping in the short Arctic summer. Additionally, the frequent revisit time of Sentinel-2 – up to every five days at mid-latitudes – allows researchers to build detailed annual or seasonal composites, enabling consistent monitoring of environmental changes across the archipelago.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Alakol, the multicoloured lake
23/05/2025

Lake Alakol in eastern Kazakhstan is featured in this radar image captured by Copernicus Sentinel-1.

Although radar images are naturally black and white, the colours in this false-colour composite result from the combination of three separate radar images, acquired a month apart in 2025. Each image has been given a different colour: blue for March, green for April and red for May. When the images are overlaid, the resulting colours highlight changes on the ground between the acquisitions. Areas that appear grey or white depict little or no change.

Alakol means ‘multicoloured lake’ and in this image it can be seen in the top left corner in varying shades of blue and green depending on variations in the frozen surface during the acquisition period. As this saltwater lake usually freezes for about two months at the end of winter, and breaks up in early spring, it appears mainly blue because, during the March acquisition, the surface was mostly frozen.

There are two smaller, shallower lakes to the northwest of Alakol. The closest is Koshkarkol, and part of Sasykkol, a freshwater lake, is also seen in the image. The variety of yellow, pink and magenta colours in the land surrounding the lakes denotes variations in vegetation between March and May.

The Alakol–Sasykkol lake system is both a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It is an important migratory stop and nesting area for a variety of water birds, including the Dalmatian Pelican and Greater Flamingo.

To the west of Alakol, we can see colourful agricultural structures in an alluvial fan. The triangular shape is formed when water runoff from the Dzungarian Alatau mountains, visible below, reaches the plain and spreads out, leaving behind fertile soil.

Lake Alakol is near the border with China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in an area shaped by the Dzhungarian Gate. This natural valley forms a mountain pass through the Dzungarian Alatau range and connects central Asia to China.

The colourful feature visible south of Alakol is Aibi Lake, or Ebi Lake, the largest saltwater lake in northwest Xinjiang. It has shrunk dramatically over the years and the vibrant colours in the northern part of the basin show where the soil has been exposed during the acquisition period.

West of the lake, the Bortala Valley is scattered with a patchwork of farms and settlements along the course of the Bortala River. The colours highlight the various crop types and stages of growth, while built-up areas appear bright grey and white.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Cloud-free Iceland
30/05/2025

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.

[jacqmans]

Mount Etna erupts
03/06/2025

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission has captured a dramatic image of Mount Etna erupting on 2 June 2025 when a massive plume of ash, gas and rock suddenly burst from Europe's largest active volcano. According to news reports, the blast sent tourists fleeing as the eruption unfolded on the island of Sicily in Italy.

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. The observatory reported that preliminary observations show a partial collapse of the northern flank of the volcano’s southeast crater. 

The image here clearly depicts the lava flow and huge plume of smoke and ash.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Saharan dust plume
05/06/2025

A thick plume of sand and dust from the Sahara Desert is seen in these images blowing from the west coast of Africa across the Atlantic Ocean.

Sandstorms, which are common over the Sahara, occur when large amounts of dust particles from the desert are swept up by strong winds. They can float for days or even weeks, depending on how dry, fast and turbulent the air masses become. Winds in the higher troposphere can then transport the dust across oceans and continents. This kind of Saharan dust storm is also known as the Saharan Air Layer, which typically forms between late spring and early autumn.

These images combine different observations from Copernicus Sentinel-3 and Copernicus Sentinel-5P on 7 May 2025. The Sentinel-3 optical image on the left shows a dense, orange plume of Saharan sand over approximately 150 000 sq km of the eastern Atlantic Ocean. The small islands of Cabo Verde peek out from beneath the clouds in the top left corner.

In the right image, a Sentinel-5P view has been overlaid on the Sentinel-3 image to show the concentration of aerosols in the dust plume: darker tones of orange denote denser aerosol concentrations. Sentinel-5P carries the state-of-the-art Tropomi instrument that maps a multitude of trace gases and can measure the aerosol index, which is an indicator of the presence and intensity of aerosols such as dust.

This combination of Sentinel-3 and -5P satellite imagery allows scientists to improve their understanding of these massive dust clouds, and forecasters to provide better air quality predictions.

These data are extremely important for air-quality models used by, for example, the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service to forecast air quality on a global scale by assessing the concentration of atmospheric particulate matter, as well as to monitor and predict how far the dust layer will travel and how it develops and therefore the effects it will have locally.

Sandstorms can be a major contributor to reduced air quality and can cause hazards to human health. The suspended particles, in fact, cause hazy skies, trigger air quality alerts and, when breathed, can lead to cardiovascular conditions and lung problems.

On the other hand, the travelling Saharan dust plays an important role in our ecosystem. It is a major source of minerals and nutrients for phytoplankton and for ecosystems on the other side of the world, including the Amazon rainforest.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: East Kalimantan, Borneo
13/06/2025

Copernicus Sentinel-1 captured this image over part of eastern Borneo, a tropical island in Southeast Asia.

Borneo, the world’s third largest island, is shared between Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia. The area pictured here covers part of the East Kalimantan province in Indonesia, with the Makassar Strait to the east, a narrow passage in the west-central Pacific Ocean.

This radar image is from 31 March 2025, it is in false-colour and in ‘dual polarisation’ horizontal and vertical radar pulses. Compared to a single acquisition, this dual mode provides more detailed and complementary information about Earth’s surface. Different colours represent different types of land cover, such as yellow for dense vegetation and forests and dark blue for water.

Here, the land is dominated by forests, dotted with numerous small lakes appearing as dark blue spots. Brighter zones suggest built-up areas, mainly located along the course of the Mahakam River, which runs across the image. The capital of the province, Samarinda, can be seen on the northern bank of the river. Radar reflections from the ships stand out like shining jewels in the dark water of the river, as well as the sea.

The Mahakam River fans out into a labyrinth of distributaries before emptying into the Makassar Strait through a large and complex delta. The area alternates between agriculture and aquaculture, particularly shrimp farming, and extensive wetlands dominated by mangrove ecosystems. Zooming in, aquaculture structures can be seen in dark blue.

Varying colours of the seawater are caused by different atmospheric fronts and wind conditions, with stronger winds on the left in the lighter zone, and calmer conditions on the right.

Distinct greenish patches visible on the ocean surface, especially within the lighter blue area, are ‘rain cells’ – distinct areas of rainfall within a larger precipitation system. As we can see in the image, these cells can range in size, from small, localised showers to larger, more extensive rainfall events. As rain cells are easy to spot using satellite radar, scientists also exploit these images to monitor the weather.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Zanzibar, Tanzania
04/07/2025

The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures a cloud-free image of Zanzibar and part of the eastern coast of Tanzania.

Covering an area of 1554 sq km, Zanzibar is an island in the Indian Ocean, about 35 km off the coast of east-central Africa.

This false-colour image was processed using the mission’s near-infrared channel, which highlights vegetation in red. This type of band combination is most commonly used to assess plant density and health: brighter red means higher density and healthier vegetation. Since the image was acquired in April 2025, during one of the region's rainy seasons, the dominant red colour indicates a prevalence of lush vegetation.

The strong contrast with built-up zones, which appear in shades of brown, makes these images important in clearly distinguishing between areas with vegetation and areas without. A perfect example is Zanzibar City, the island’s principal port and commercial centre, on the western side of Zanzibar Island. Its urban network of roads and buildings stands out clearly amongst the red vegetation.

The brown conurbation of Dar es Salaam, the largest city and major port of Tanzania, is visible on the mainland. Its beautiful beaches can be seen as long, white strips on the coast near the city.

Water bodies, such as the Indian Ocean, appear in black, while turbid waters, likely due to sediment from rivers and mostly visible along the mainland coast, appear in light green.

A large number of islands, most of which are uninhabited, are clear to see as red spots in the water indicating they are covered with dense vegetation. The islands just off the coastline of Dar es Salaam form a vast marine reserve system, protecting a variety of habitats and biodiversity.

Coral reefs can be seen where the dark colour of ocean water fades into lighter blue along the coasts of Zanzibar and around the numerous small islands and islets surrounding it. Signs of damage to the reefs, partly due to warmer sea temperatures, have recently been observed. In response, local initiatives are currently underway to protect and restore the reef ecosystem.

Thanks to its frequent revisits and high resolution, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission can contribute significantly to an increased understanding of pressures on coral reefs at a global scale.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Lake District, UK
11/07/2025

The varied landscape of England’s Lake District is featured in this image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

Located in northwest England in the county of Cumbria, the Lake District is shaped by a harmonious mix of several natural landforms, and extends to the coast of the Irish Sea, facing the Isle of Man, partly visible in the far left of the image. Lakes, hills, valleys, woodland, settlements and farmland combine to give life to England's largest national park, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017.

As we see in the image, the Lake District features a roughly circular core of mountains, deeply carved by valleys of glacial origin, hosting long, narrow lakes in their hollows. The region is home to England’s highest peak, Scafell Pike, which reaches an elevation of 978 m. On a clear day, the view can span from the Galloway Hills of Scotland to the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland, as well as the Isle of Man, and Eryri (Snowdonia) in Wales.

As the name suggests, the area is home to the principal lakes of England, including the largest, Windermere, whose elongated shape can be seen south of the central massif. Next to Windermere is Coniston Water and further west are Wasdale valley and Wastwater, the deepest lake in England.

Northwest of Wastwater lies Derwentwater, studded with wooded islands, and further east is Ullswater, the second largest lake in the region, known for the daffodils that inspired Wordsworth’s famous poem of the same name.

While the higher hills – also known as fells – are mainly rocky, deciduous native woodland occurs on many of the lower, steeper slopes. Extensive agriculture and farmland can be seen lower down around the mountains, interspersed with villages and settlements which appear as grey areas.

The Lake District is also home to varied freshwater habitats, such as mires, lakeshore wetlands, coastal heath, dunes and a number of estuaries, including Morecambe Bay, visible in the bottom right corner of the image. Covering an area of 310 sq km, Morecambe Bay is the UK’s largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand and supports a wealth of wildlife, with abundant bird and marine species.

Zooming in off the coast of Morecambe Bay, the turbines of several offshore wind farms stand out as white dots in the Irish Sea water.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Circles in the desert
18/07/2025

This image from Copernicus Sentinel-1 shows circular agricultural structures near Tabarjal, in the barren desert of northern Saudi Arabia.

Most of Saudi Arabia has a desert climate and experiences temperatures as high as 50°C in summer. While there are virtually no permanent rivers or lakes in the country, large valleys called wadis fill with water during times of heavy rain. Most settlements are located along these valleys.

The area pictured lies within the Wadi As Sirhan basin and shows how Saudi Arabia’s desert is used for agriculture. Despite the dry climate, many irrigated crops are grown in the area.

The circles, each approximately one kilometre wide, are formed by central-pivot irrigation systems. These consist of a well at the centre of each circle, which supplies water from underground aquifers to rotating sprinklers. This type of irrigation helps farmers manage water in a more sustainable way to conserve this precious resource, which is not being replenished.

This composite combines three Copernicus Sentinel-1 radar images, acquired over seven months. Each acquisition has been given a different colour – blue for October 2024, green for January 2025 and red for May 2025. The three images are then layered on top of each other to map differences in land cover, to understand how land is used and to track changes between acquisitions.

The resulting bright colours provide information on the different types of crop and their growth stage, and variations in irrigation. White, grey or black mean small or no changes over the acquisition period, indicating bare soil, fallow or non-vegetated fields when appearing within the circles, or desert sand, low hills, dry riverbeds and rocky terrain in the overall surrounding areas.

Settlements in the image show up as white, irregular areas amid the colourful circles, with the largest visible being Tabarjal (or Tubarjal), in the top right of the image. Thanks to its agricultural production and strategic location, Tabarjal is an important town in northern Saudi Arabia. It serves as a central hub for surrounding rural communities and plays a vital role in the food supply for the region.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Kuwaiti waters
25/07/2025

The turquoise waters southeast of the Kuwaiti island of Failaka are captured in this image acquired by the Φsat-2 mission.

Failaka is about 20 km off Kuwait’s coast at the head of the Persian Gulf. The various colours in the water come from a combination of wind patterns over the region and sediment in the water surrounding the island.

Throughout the year, wind blows sand and dust from soil disposal activities towards the Gulf – and the particles become sediment in the water around Failaka. The island’s position in the path of the prevailing wind creates the swirling patterns that appear in hues of blue and green in the image.

This Φsat-2 true-colour image was acquired on 25 March 2025, during the satellite’s nine-month commissioning phase after its launch in August 2024. Commissioning was concluded in the second quarter of this year and the satellite is now delivering scientific data.

Orbiting at an altitude of 510 km, Φ-sat-2 is a cubesat that generates images using seven multispectral bands, from visible to near-infrared, with a ground sampling distance of about 5 m. This type of remote-sensing instrument is particularly useful for environmental monitoring, land management and mapping.

The mission was designed with the purpose of demonstrating and testing the use of onboard Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Earth observation. This image shows some of the mission’s AI capabilities, such as inspecting the images to determine the presence of the ocean, the absence of clouds and autonomously detect and classify vessels. The small, bright red feature visible at the bottom of the image is a commercial ship.

The same AI application can also establish whether or not a given scene (or area) of marine traffic requires further monitoring or investigation. Other AI applications on board are used to compress satellite images, to detect marine pollution and wildfires and to identify and analyse disaster areas, for example zones affected by earthquakes or floods, and convert satellite images into street maps that can be used by emergency response teams.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Gibson Desert, Australia
12/09/2025

Part of the Gibson Desert in Western Australia is featured in this image, captured by the Φsat-2 mission in June 2025.

Covering an area of over 150 000 sq km, the desert consists of gravel terrains covered by desert grasses, as well as red sandy plains and dune fields. As we can also see in the image, the typical soil surface colours range from reddish brown to red, owing to the iron-rich sediments. Additionally, the dry climate and weather trigger soil oxidation, giving the landscape its distinctive warm colours.

Parallel sand dune ridges are a defining characteristic of the area and can be seen spreading across the image. These are shaped by the wind and can stretch for tens of km.

The largest blue feature visible in the lower part of the image is a dry lakebed, where the Fortescue River empties. In this region, rivers are mainly ephemeral, which means that they remain dry for most of the year and flow only temporarily and briefly, usually in direct response to precipitation. The Fortescue River is dry in this image because no significant rain fell during the days before the acquisition.

Inland drainage is typical of most of Western Australia, and the great majority of the lakes here are saline dried-up lakebeds, rather than freshwater bodies. The partially white body of water seen at the top is part of the Fortescue Marsh wetlands rather than a classic permanent lake. The white colour within the lake is due to the presence of sediments in the water.

The Fortescue Marsh is a vast seasonal floodplain with lakes, marshes, and pools that act as a natural water retention basin during and after rains. It is nationally recognised as a wetland of importance and supports diverse flora and fauna that has adapted to the arid and ephemeral river environment.

Launched in August 2024, Φsat-2 is a miniature satellite – a cubesat – designed to demonstrate how different Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies can advance observing Earth from space.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Northeast Greenland National Park
26/09/2025

Part of the icy landscape of the Northeast Greenland National Park is pictured in this image captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

Lying in the North Atlantic Ocean, Greenland is the world’s largest island and is home to the Northeast Greenland National Park, the largest national park in the world. The park covers 972 000 sq km – which is almost the area of Spain and France combined – with about 80% of its territory permanently under the mighty Greenland Ice Sheet, the world’s second largest ice sheet after Antarctica.

In this summer image, the colour of soil varies from light to dark brown, ice and snow appear in shades of white, while the different blue tones indicate water.

The large blue area on the right is Dove Bay, which appears partly free from ice, with seasonal breakup fractures due to currents and wind.

North of the bay, on the southern shore of the Germania Land Peninsula, visible in the top right corner, lies the Danmarkshavn weather station, where the permanent six-man team collects meteorological data used in international weather forecasting models. Danmarkshavn is one of the most isolated inhabited stations in the world. It is also known as the northernmost place on Greenland's east coast accessible to non-icebreaking vessels, depending on ice conditions.

A number of glaciers and their ice streams are pictured with melt ponds visible as blue spots in the ice, especially zooming in near the centre of the image. Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets during spring and summer, as the air warms up and the sun beats down on the Greenland Ice Sheet. When snow and ice melt on the surface of glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface, forming the ponds.

Melt ponds can speed up the melting of ice by reducing its ability to reflect sunlight, which increases heat absorption and further accelerates ice melt. While the melting of sea ice does not directly affect global sea levels, the faster melting of land-based ice, enhanced by these processes, does contribute to sea level rise.

Rising sea levels increase the risk of flooding in coastal areas worldwide, impact Arctic Ocean marine ecosystems, and alter ocean and atmospheric circulation patterns – which affect weather conditions around the planet.

Satellite imagery is vital to mapping the rapidly changing face of the Greenland Ice Sheet. Observations from space can be used to verify how climate models simulate ice sheet melting which will allow improved predictions of how much Greenland will raise the global sea level in the future.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Chilean glaciers
17/10/2025

The changing face of the Chilean glaciers in the Laguna San Rafael National Park is featured in these satellite images from 1987 and 2024.

Located on the Pacific coast of southern Chile, the park covers an area of around 17 000 sq km and includes the Northern Patagonian Ice Field – a remnant of the Patagonian Ice Sheet that once covered the region. Today, despite the ice field being just a fraction of its previous size, it is still the second largest continuous mass of ice outside the polar regions.

As we can see in the images, the ice mass feeds glaciers that have changed in size between 1987 and 2024. The Landsat-5 image on the left was acquired on 9 February 1987, while the image on the right captured the ice field on 9 February 2024 as seen by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.

The west part of the Northern Patagonian Ice Field feeds 28 exit glaciers. The largest two, San Rafael and San Quintín, are pictured here. Both glaciers have been receding dramatically due to global warming.

The San Rafael glacier, in the upper left, is one of the most actively calving glaciers in the world. It calves west towards the Pacific Ocean and into an arc-shaped lake, Laguna San Rafael, visible directly to the left of the glacier. The lake is formed and fed by the retreat of the glacier.

Like Laguna San Rafael, many lakes in the area are fed by water from melting glaciers. In the images, the colour of the water varies from dark blue to aquamarine depending on the amount of suspended fine sediment present. This sediment is called ‘glacier milk’ and is a result of abrasion as glaciers move over the underlying rock. This is particularly clear in San Rafael lake, where we can also see icebergs floating in the water.

Directly below San Rafael lies the San Quintín glacier, the second largest in the ice field. The glacier drains to the west and, taking a closer look at its terminus in both images, we can see how, in 1987, the glacier almost terminated on land, but, with its retreat, the basin filled with water and formed the proglacial lake we see in 2024.

Glaciers around the world are affected by climate change. As temperatures rise and glaciers and ice sheets melt, the water eventually runs into the ocean, causing sea levels to rise. Rising seas are one of the most distinctive and potentially devastating consequences of Earth’s warming climate.

Satellite observations can greatly contribute to the precise monitoring of glacier change. The pace at which glaciers are losing mass in the long term is very important to making informed future adaptation decisions.

[jacqmans]

Earth from space: Likouala-aux-Herbes river, Congo
24/10/2025

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.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Ghostly lake
31/10/2025

To celebrate Halloween, we bring you these spooky sights of Lake Carnegie in Australia, captured from space by Copernicus Sentinel-2.

Lake Carnegie lies at the southwestern border of the Gibson Desert in the Shire of Wiluna in Western Australia, about 900 km northeast of the state capital, Perth.

Being a large ephemeral lake, Carnegie fills with water only after heavy rains, that are usually rare in the region. When full, its total area is around 5700 sq km, making it one of Australia’s biggest lakes. In dry times, it shrinks down to a muddy marsh. These images were captured after unusually high rainfall in Western Australia, making the lake’s ghostly ‘face’ easily seen from space.

The ghostly connotations don’t end there, as Lake Carnegie was observed through different spectral bands by Copernicus Sentinel-2’s multispectral imager. The image on the left shows the lake in natural colours, as the human eye would see it, while the false-colour image on the right has been processed using three specific spectral bands to create the sinister-looking effect.

This band combination highlights water in deep blue, which makes the lake outlines more distinct and can be used to detect inundation patterns in the area. In particular, at its southeastern end, the lake gives way to swamps and channels that can be more clearly distinguished in false colour rather than in the natural-colour image.

While only about a dozen people are reported to live around Lake Carnegie, the lake provides an important habitat and breeding areas for large flocks of birds. It is also believed to be home to the elusive and critically endangered night parrot, which was thought to be extinct for 100 years.

The whole area is part of the Matuwa Kurrara Kurrara National Park and Lake Carnegie nature reserve, which aims to protect the area's important biodiversity and the Aboriginal cultural heritage.

[jacqmans]

Earth from Space: Prague
14/11/2025

This very high-resolution image captures the beautiful medieval core of the Czech capital, Prague.

Lying at the heart of Europe, Prague’s historic centre became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. From its original small riverside settlements, Prague has spread over its surrounding hills and valleys, reaching a metropolitan area of around 496 sq km.

Prague sits astride the Vltava River, the longest in Czechia. Thanks to the very high resolution of this image, a lot of Prague’s world-famous landmarks can be easily identified. Along the river’s winding course, we can see a succession of bridges and islands of different sizes.

Near the centre of the image, on the river’s left bank, we see Kampa Island, which gets its name from the Latin word ‘campu’, meaning ‘field’, due to its former use as farmland before it was raised above flood level. The island is separated from the mainland only by a small stream – the ‘Čertovka’. In this image it is even possible to spot the steps leading from Kampa Island up to Charles Bridge.

This famous arch bridge stretches for 500 m across the Vltava, with baroque statues lining its parapets. It was Prague's only bridge over the Vltava until 1841. Two towers lie on either end and offer good views along the bridge and up and down the river over the many spires for which Prague is famous.

The renowned twin spires that dominate the city skyline are those of the St. Vitus’s Cathedral within the grounds of Prague Castle. The latter is the city’s most popular attraction and official seat of the head of state. Its massive walls can be seen on a hill on Vltava’s left bank approximately where the river turns east. Covering an area bigger than seven football fields, the castle is the world’s largest ancient castle complex and includes several historic buildings, museums and galleries.

On the right bank of the river, Prague’s principal public square, the Old Town Square, can be spotted northeast of Charles Bridge. Zooming in, the statue known as Jan Hus Memorial is visible at the square’s northern end, with the Marian Column facing it.

Moving south, the elongated, rectangular shape of Wenceslas Square can be seen stretching from northwest to southeast, ending with the neoclassical building of the National Museum next to Prague’s main train station.

Prague also hosts many parks, gardens and recreational facilities, including the vast Strahov sports complex visible to the west of Kampa Island.

This image was acquired by the Pléiades Neo mission, an optical constellation that pictures Earth with a resolution of up to 30 cm. It is part of ESA’s Third Party Missions programme, which means ESA uses its multi-mission ground systems and expertise to acquire, process, distribute and archive data from a wide range of satellite missions developed and operated by other agencies.

To illustrate the unique contribution that Earth observing satellites offer, a new ‘Earth from Space’ exhibit opened this week at the Prague Planetarium, which coincided with the 17th anniversary of Czechia joining ESA. The exhibition, organised by ESA, features four interactive installations with state-of-the-art immersive data visualisations aimed to inspire and fuel the curiosity of future generations.