From the ground, the lava lakes on Vanuatu's Ambrym volcano look something like J.R.R. Tolkien's Mount Doom. Roiling pools of lava glow a deep orange, spewing lava and seemingly endless plumes of steam and gas.
The Father Blows off Steam
A plume of white steam and ash extends from the summit crater of Ulawun on the island of New Britain, the largest in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. Astronauts on the International Space Station observed the action on Nov. 30, 2012, while orbiting above the 7,657-foot stratovolcano.
Pléiades 1B Satellite Acquires First Images
Just days after its successful launch on Dec. 2, 2012, the advanced sensors on board the French Pléiades 1B Earth observation satellite are collecting some amazingly vivid Earth images.
Night View of Riyadh Portrays Population Growth
Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, appears as a brightly colored patchwork in this nighttime astronaut photograph. Riydah's population has risen dramatically during the last half century, from 150,000 in 1960 to an astounding 5.4 million in 2012.
Volcanic Ash Blankets Kamchatka Snow
This astronaut photo reveals the Karymsky stratovolcaono less than two hours after it erupted on Nov. 9, 2012. Karymsky is the most active of Kamchatka's eastern volcanoes, a region where, on a geologic time scale, volcanism has occurred constantly since at least the late 18th century.
Don't Be Fooled”The Real India at Night
Each fall, Hindus around the world light lamps, candles and firecrackers for the festival known as Diwali. A colorful satellite image of India that claims to show the region lit for Diwali has been circulating on the Internet, but it's not authentic. This image, collected by the Suomi NPP satellite, is the real deal.
Sandy vs. Katrina”Comparing Two Monster Storms
The scenes of devastation and wreckage that Superstorm Sandy (2012) and Hurricane Katrina (2005) left behind were tragically similar. But from a meteorological perspective, satellite data reveal the storms were very different.
Greenland Ice Swirls Mimic Marbled Paper
Seawater off the east coast of Greenland looked a bit like marbled paper in October 2012. The shifting swirls of white in this image were sea ice, as observed by NASA's Aqua satellite on Oct. 17, 2012.
Hurricane Sandy After Landfall
Hurricane Sandy made landfall along the southern New Jersey coast on the evening of Oct. 29, 2012. The Suomi NPP satellite acquired the accompanying image of the storm around 3:35 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on October 30.
Observing Turkish Glaciers from Space
When it comes to glaciers, Turkey probably isn't the first country that comes to mind. However, numerous peaks in the rugged mountains of eastern Turkey are high enough and cold enough to sustain year-round ice.
