Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)

See how Low Earth Orbit observations make a difference for weather forecasts and environmental insights in the 2025 #LEO #ScienceDigest. 🌎 🛰️ Read 10 science articles featuring @NOAA’s #JPSS satellites and other LEO missions: nesdis.noaa.gov/science-digest

We’re in the final stretch of #NOAASatelliteShowdown! 🌎 We’ve shared 12 of 16 satellite views so far, and your likes count as votes. Search the hashtag to catch up on every contender and vote on this week’s posts. Tune in next week for the next set of contenders.

It's #WhereInTheWorld Wednesday! This desert lake in California, seen by #NOAA21 on March 11, 2026, is extremely salty with highly alkaline water. Despite this, it supports a thriving ecosystem, where tiny brine shrimp and alkali flies feed on green algae. In turn, migratory birds depend on them as a vital food source.

This #NOAASatelliteShowdown contender is showing off. 🍂 Team Fall Color! Captured by @NOAA’s JPSS satellites from early to mid-October 2025, this view shows fall colors changing across the Appalachian Mountains. Like to vote!

This #NOAASatelliteShowdown contender is entering its “moving on” era. ❄️➡️🌱 Team Erie Breakup! In a #NOAA21 satellite sequence observed from March 3 to 27, 2025, ice cover receded over Lake Erie as temperatures rose heading into early spring. Like to vote!

We’re at the halfway point of #NOAASatelliteShowdown 🌎 We’ve shared 8 of 16 satellite views so far, and your likes count as votes. Search the hashtag to see every contender and vote on this week’s posts. Tune in next week for the next set of contenders.

This #TimelapseTuesday, we're looking at changes in midwinter snowpack across the western United States over the past 13 years. This enhanced color imagery, from @NOAA's @JPSSprogram satellites, shows snowpack in cyan.

Eyes on this #NOAASatelliteShowdown contender. 👁️ Team Eye of the Storm! This imagery from @NOAA’s JPSS satellites captures Hurricane Gabrielle’s eye in high resolution on Sept. 22, 2025, as the storm swirled over the Atlantic. Like to vote!

Low visibility, clear contender in #NOAASatelliteShowdown. 🌫️ It’s Team Fog! This imagery from @NOAA’s JPSS satellites shows Tule fog lingering in California’s Central Valley under a persistent upper-level ridge from Nov. 22 to Dec. 9, 2025. Like to vote!

We’re underway with #NOAASatelliteShowdown! 🌎 We’ve shared 4 of 16 satellite views so far. Like each post to vote. Search the hashtag to see every contender and vote on this week’s posts. Tune in next week for the next set of contenders.

Great view from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (#VIIRS) instrument onboard @NOAA’s JPSS satellites. 🛰️✨ Learn how nighttime lights data are used: earthdata.nasa.gov/topics/human-d…

It's time for #WhereInTheWorld Wednesday! Today's stunning image is from our NOAA-21 satellite as it passed over the Southwestern U.S. on February 27, 2026. In the center of the beautiful brown and orange mottled landscape of southern Utah and Arizona is this winding river.

This #NOAASatelliteShowdown contender makes a mark! ❄️ Team Snowfall! This enhanced color imagery from the NOAA/NASA #SuomiNPP satellite captured a significant mountain snowfall across the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 24, 2025. Like to vote!

This #NOAASatelliteShowdown contender lights up the sky! 💡 Meet Team Aurora! This composite view from NOAA’s #NOAA20 and #NOAA21 satellites show city lights across North America, while an aurora borealis is seen over Canada at night on Nov. 11 to 12, 2025. Like to vote!

Nighttime visible imagery also observes snow cover across the northern high plains and ice along the Missouri River. Seen earlier this morning by polar-orbiting satellites.

In Alaska’s remote environment, @NOAA’s JPSS satellites provide frequent observations that support weather forecasting and hazard monitoring. This sequence shows one example as volcanic ash billows from Mount Shishaldin on Oct. 3, 2023. Read more: nesdis.noaa.gov/news/the-criti…

Let the games begin! 🛰️ We’re posting 4 NOAA satellite views each week from March 2 to 26. Like each post to vote. Follow #NOAASatelliteShowdown for all 16 contenders. The top 4 overall across X, Facebook, and Instagram advance to an early April championship round.

It's #WhereInTheWorld Wednesday! 🎉 This body of water in North Carolina was viewed by #NOAA21 on Feb. 14, 2026. Separated from the Atlantic by barrier islands, this "sound" is the largest saltwater lagoon along the North American East Coast.

A nor’easter off the Northeast U.S. coast was observed by @NOAA’s JPSS satellites on Feb. 23, 2026. This enhanced-color view shows the storm’s swirling cloud structure over the Atlantic. The system brought blizzard conditions to parts of the region. ❄️ Credit: NOAA/@CIRA_CSU

It's time for #WhereInTheWorld Wednesday!  Today's image is from our #NOAA21 satellite as it passed over the Northern Plains on Monday, February 16. This river is the largest and longest river that runs through South Dakota. Pierre, the state capital, is located on its east bank near the geographic center of the state.

Solar array deployment test milestone complete! 🛰️☀️ @NOAA’s #JPSS4 solar array was tested ahead of launch by @NASA and @NorthropGrumman. @NOAASatellites will operate JPSS-4 after launch. Learn more about this critical test: nesdis.noaa.gov/news/noaas-nex…