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You will be directed to the NASA Visible Earth webpage when you select Images by Mission below, or click on the images at right that are randomly generated to represent four out of all possible topics.

Featured Content

Nearly 20 Years of Daily Global MODIS Imagery at Your Fingertips

NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is an extremely versatile instrument that has sometimes been called the “workhorse” of NASA’s Earth Observing System. As of June 2018, all daily global MODIS imagery dating back to the operational start of MODIS data collection in 2000 is available through NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) and can be viewed rapidly and interactively using EOSDIS’s Worldview visualization application. We invite you to read the July-August 2018 issue of The Earth Observer to learn more about this effort, as well as other interesting news about NASA's Earth Science missions.

GRACE-FO Launches!

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) mission launched onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Tuesday, May 22, 2018, at 12:47 PM PDT (3:47 PM EDT) from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. To learn more about GRACE-FO, see page 4 of the May-June issue of The Earth Observer.

A Trip Through The Earth Observer Newsletter

The Earth Observer has entered its thirtieth year as a NASA publication. The very first issue was in March 1989. Our archives are a veritable treasure-trove of history about the development of NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS), the broader NASA Earth Science Research, Applications, and Flight programs, and related education and outreach activities. In the feature article on page 5 of the March-April 2018 issue, our Executive Editor takes us on a trip through The Earth Observer archives, no doubt stirring memories in readers who were part of these events. For all our readership, we hope that a better appreciation for the past helps inform our present and future endeavors.

Starting a New Year: The Jan - Feb 2018 Issue of The Earth Observer Newsletter

NASA will commemorate the 60th anniversary of its establishment later this year (2018), with various milestones being celebrated throughout the year. For example, January 31, 2018, marked the 60th anniversary of the launch of Explorer 1, the first U.S. space satellite. The January-February issue of The Earth Observer newsletter highlights results from an assessment of missions in extended operations, provides a status on recently launched assets that build on heritage missions, and reports on the release of recommendations for the prioritization of Earth science observations in the coming decade. The issue also highlights NASA’s recent outreach activities at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, and summarizes recent science meetings and workshops such as the Interagency Workshop on Societal Applications of Satellite Data for Ocean Health and Fisheries.

GOES-16: The First in a New Generation of Geostationary Satellites

GOES-R is the latest NOAA–NASA GOES mission; it launched on November 19, 2016, and was renamed to GOES-16 after launch and on-orbit checks were complete. GOES-16 is the first in the GOES-R series, which includes GOES-R, -S, -T, and -U, that will launch between now and 2025, ushering in a new era of geosynchronous observing capabilities. The November-December 2017 issue of The Earth Observer includes a feature article about GOES-16, approximately one year after launch. The article introduces the GOES-16 satellite’s improvements, including spacecraft design, its manifest of advanced instruments, resultant data products, and anticipated societal benefits. 

A Changing Earth at Night

Satellite images of Earth at night—often referred to as “night lights”—have been a gee-whiz curiosity for the public and a tool for fundamental research for nearly 25 years. The map on the front of this poster shows the change in lighting intensity from 2012 to 2016. The map was created using two separate night lights datasets (from 2012 and 2016) derived using data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite. The back of the poster explains how scientists use night lights data from VIIRS to study our planet at night.

2017 AGU Schedule of Events at the NASA Booth

Are you traveling to New Orleans to attend the 2017 AGU Fall Meeting, held December 11-15, 2017? If so, please plan to visit the NASA Booth (#1645). Navigate the streets (or rues) of the NASA Booth and immerse yourself in science. Join us at the Inspiration Theatre for science stories, share a piece of your personal history involving NASA at NASA’s Living Timeline exhibit, and make new science connections while strolling down Avenues Interconnected, Impact, Innovation, and Inspiration. Please see the program for a full list of events. Learn something new, have fun, and discover together!

NASA Science 2018 Commemorative Calendar

The NASA Science 2018 Commemorative Calendar is now available online.

NASA's Science Communication Support Office Annual Report 2017

The Science Communications Support Office (SCSO) supported 18 domestic and international science conferences and 6 public events in 2017. The SCSO continues to provide an inspiring and interactive venue for every event during the year, using a unique storytelling approach that allows a variety of audiences worldwide to connect with NASA Science. The 2017 Annual Report provides an overview of these activities with details about new Hyperwall stories, publications, social media, key partnerships, and more!

NASA Provides Unique Views of the 2017 “Eclipse Across America”

On Monday, August 21, 2017, all of North America was treated to an eclipse of the sun, with some locations experiencing a total solar eclipse—where the sun was 100% obscured by the moon’s shadow, or umbra. In the September-October 2017 issue of The Earth Observer, we briefly summarize NASA Television’s Eclipse Across America coverage—a four-hour broadcast that took place on the day of the eclipse from 12:00 to 4:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Throughout the summary are discussions of some of the science activities that were conducted, as well as several "Perspectives from the Path" that describe personal anecdotes from eyewitnesses who had been asked to describe their respective eclipse experiences for this article.

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