Land from another world
Extreme winter weather causes power outages in the United States
Texas and other central states set records for cold temperatures in a persistent blast of arctic air.
Break in Brunt
Two years after its fracture, an iceberg twice the size of Chicago broke away from an Antarctic pack ice.
Fagradalsfjall erupts in Iceland
The volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula lit up the clouds from below. In three months, the lava flows covered about 3 square kilometers.
Exceptional heat hits the Pacific Northwest
In June 2021, all-time temperature records fell in several cities across the United States and Canada in a “historic and dangerous” heat wave.
The colors of the rivers are changing
Over the past 35 years, one-third of major rivers in the United States have changed dominant color, often due to sediment or algae. The images show a color change from 1986 to 2020 along the Rio Grande River in New Mexico.
Clouds over Sumatra
After crossing the Java Sea, humid air rises as it passes through the Indonesian mountains. This creates spectacular storm clouds and anvils.
Lake Mead drops to record high
The reservoir has fallen to its lowest level since filling in the 1930s.
Tidal swirls in the Sea of Okhotsk
Strong tides create laminar and turbulent flow regimes in the waters off Russia’s far east.
Lava burns a path through La Palma
A slowly moving wall of basalt lava made its way through the communities of one of the Canary Islands.
A changed landscape in La Palma
Parts of the island now look more like a lunar landscape than a tropical paradise.
Fall for corn
More than a third of the world’s corn is grown in the United States. On this map, the yellow areas represent the land that was planted with corn in 2020. This image shows part of the Midwest region just as the corn harvest was drawing to a close in 2021.
First light of Landsat 9
NASA and USGS launched Landsat 9 in September 2021. The first images were ready within weeks.
Fall color in Japan
Momijiari, or “red leaf hunt”, can last until early December in southern parts of the country.
New ocean data is pouring in
Ocean surface data from the Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich mission became available to the public in June 2021. At the end of the year, the new satellite observed a moderate La Niña, visible as a level zone. below normal (blue) sea along and below the equator.
Eclipsed Antarctica
The only 2021 total solar eclipse was visible from Antarctica, where the Moon obscured the Sun for nearly two minutes.
The braided Paraná
Visit NASA’s Earth Observatory for more daily images of your home planet in 2022.
Video by Kathryn Hansen.
