High in the Andes Mountains, Copahue is often obscured by clouds. But, in this image from a above, the stratovolcano can be seen billowing smoke.NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen
The rugged landscape of the Grizzly Bear Complex in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington is scarred by fires. Tens of thousands of acres show signs of burns, the smoke of which can be seen here.NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen
For the past 30 years, Hawaii’s most active volcano, Kilauea, has spewed ash and lava. The Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruption can be seen here from November 2016.
Legendary Mount Kilamanjaro’s peaks are seen here from an unusual, top-down point of view.NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen
These salty lagoons from the black sea on the northern part of the Crimean Peninsula look almost alien.NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen
Fed in part by the irrigation from the Murrumbidgee river, southeastern Australia’s Murray-Darling is considered the country’s food bowl.NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens and Jesse Allen
Torrential downpours in Missouri and Illinois sent water south down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico in December 2015, flooding regions along the way.NASA Earth Observatory images by Jesse Allen
Nicaragua’s Momotombo Volcano erupted for the first time in a century on December 4, 2015NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen
Sediment from the Salinas and Pajaro rivers rose in the Monterey Bay in February, leading to flooding, evacuations, and thousands of residents to lose electricity.NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen
Intense rainfall triggered this immense landslide (brown streak to the left) in a remote region of Myanmar in July of last year. The landslide, which lasted just 160 seconds, stretched over three and a half miles.NASA Earth Observatory images by Jesse Allen
In 2002, a series of storms from the Atlantic brought heavy weather inland. These winds spawned a number of tornados, including in La Plata, Maryland, where an F4 touched down, destroying the city’s downtown and all else in its 24-mile path.NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen
The Badwater Basin in California’s Death Valley has striking resemblances to the landscape of the Red Planet.NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon
Along the northeastern coast of Brazil, sand dunes can sometimes stretch miles inland.NASA Earth Observatory image created by Jesse Allen
They may be small in comparison to Central Park but Brooklyn’ famous Prospect Park and Green-Wood Cemetery offer Brooklynites green reprieve from the bricks and concrete.NASA image created by Jesse Allen
The historic launchpads at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, where the Apollo 11 mission took off.NASA image by Robert Simmon
In 2002, hanging glacier collapsed in the Caucasus Mountains, triggering an immense avalanche that spread debris more than 15 miles, burying small villages and killing dozens of people.NASA image by Jesse Allen
As California battles drought, firefighters battle wild fires. The Freeway Fire destroyed 187 homes in November 2008.NASA image by Robert Simmon
Mount Saint Helens erupted a cloud of ash and steam on the first day of October, 2004.NASA image courtesy Lawrence Ong
A week after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, much of the city was still under water, as shown here in deep blue.NASA image courtesy Lawrence Ong
Every spring and summer, some of Greenland’s glaciers melt. Last year, that melt arrived exceptionally early, as shown here in the blue melt ponds.NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen
Last week, NASA retired one of its greats — the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite. Initially commissioned for the agency’s New Millennium Program, EO-1 proved to be the satellite that could. Its one-year mission turned into nearly 17.
EO-1 was never meant to be such a star. In fact, its original purpose was to test and refine technologies for future Earth imaging. It was launched on November 21, 2000 with 13 new technologies, three of which had never been tested. Many of the most stunning images were capture by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI).
“EO-1 has changed the way spectral Earth measurements are being made and used by the science community,” Betsy Middleton, EO-1’s project scientist said in a NASA news release.
But EO-1 did more than just prove a few instruments. During it’s mission the satellite captured a bunch of remarkable images, many of them firsts for a satellite, including the first to map of an active lava flow, first to measure a facility’s methane leak, and the first track Amazon forest regrowth.
Though the satellite has been retired, it will continue to orbit Earth until it burns up in the atmosphere in the 2050s. “We’ll probably just see EO-1 as a streak in the sky as it disintegrates,” Middleton said.
Leading drone maker DJI has teamed up with the SkyPixel online community for its eighth annual photo and video contest.
Whether you’re an experienced drone pilot or an absolute beginner still finding your way, the contest is the perfect opportunity to send your machine skyward in a test of your creative skills.
How $80 of photo processing software magically saved me thousands
It's a good time to be a photographer, whether you're just starting out and really don't have any idea what you're doing, or if you're a seasoned pro looking to try something new.
The gear is better than ever, making even entry-level bodies better than what the previous generation started out with. Software options make cataloging and processing your photos faster and less destructive, so you can revisit things for years and give old pics new life.
Sony A7 III mirorless camera is $300 off for Black Friday
There are a lot of great Best Buy Black Friday deals going on right now, and whether you're looking for TVs, laptops, or even headphones, there's a little something for everybody. Of course, many folks may not realize that Best Buy has some fantastic deals on high-end photography gear, such as this Sony Alpha a7 III mirrorless camera. While it usually goes for a whopping $2,200, Best Buy had brought it down to $1,900, and while that relatively doesn't seem like much, you could always spend the $300 savings on a new lens.
Why you should buy the Sony Alpha a7 III
The Sony Alpha a7 III is a camera with so much tech that it might as well be three different cameras. It has excellent dynamic range, low-light performance, and high-speed performance, and the full-frame sensors make the images look absolutely stunning. Interestingly, the a7 III manages to do an excellent job at both low and high ISOs, the latter of which can go as high as 51,200 non-boosted, which, granted, adds a lot of noise, but noise reduction helps with that. As for the video, well, sadly, it's not as impressive, at least in terms of advancements in image quality, and while it can do 8-bit 4K at 30 frames per second, it's no longer ahead of the pack in that regard, like the Panasonic Lumix GH5 is with its 400Mbps 10-bit codec and 60-fps 4K.