satellite images

AFTER: Destroyed homes and buildings along Walnut Street in Rolling Fork, Miss. on March 26, 2023.

National

Satellite Images Show Devastation From Tornado in Rolling Fork, Mississippi

10:57pm March 26, 2023

by Nicole Werbeck

Extensive damage to buildings, homes and infrastructure can be seen across the area as the tornado moved from the southwest to the northeast directly through the town, Maxar said.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, arrives in a hotel with a delegation in Zaporizhzia, Ukraine, on Aug. 31. The delegation will travel to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

What inspectors will look for at Ukraine's war-damaged Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

1:56pm August 31, 2022

by Geoff Brumfiel

The international atomic watchdog has been to some of the world's toughest locations, but nothing quite like Europe's largest nuclear power plant in an active war zone.

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A Russian serviceman patrols Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station on May 1. A series of exchanges in recent weeks has made conditions at the plant more dangerous.

Here's just how close the war in Ukraine has come to Europe's largest nuclear plant

3:00pm August 10, 2022

Satellite images and social media analyzed by NPR show attacks have hit structures around the plant, coming dangerously close to causing a nuclear accident.

Volcanic ash covers rooftops and vegetation in an area of Tonga last week. Thick ash on an airport runway was delaying aid deliveries to the Pacific island nation, where significant damage was reported.

Satellite images show the aftermath of Tonga volcano's eruption

8:35am January 26, 2022

by Jonathan Franklin

The images show populated areas in the archipelago with heavily damaged or destroyed buildings and homes and at least one island covered with ash.

Beruit's port before (left) and after Tuesday's explosion (right).

World News

Satellite Images Show Aftermath Of Beirut Blast

6:32pm August 05, 2020

by Geoff Brumfiel

The massive explosion leveled the city's port and scattered debris across a road thousands of feet away. The blast killed at least 100 people and injured thousands more.

A Spy Agency's Challenge: How To Sort A Million Photos A Day

9:43pm March 12, 2020

by Greg Myre

The Earth's entire land mass is being photographed by satellites every single day. Trying to make sense of all these images falls to a U.S. spy agency many have never heard of.

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Satellite images released by Save the Children show an undisclosed area in Idlib province in July 2018 (left), and after apparent aerial bombardment in May 2019.

World News

'There's Nothing Left': Satellite Images Show Razed Villages In Idlib, Syria

6:04pm March 04, 2020

by Merrit Kennedy

New images show the scale of the destruction in the rebel stronghold of Idlib, where the United Nations says nearly a million people have been displaced in the last three months.

A bicyclist pedals past signs promoting the 2010 census outside homes in Rolling Fork, Miss., in 2010.

Here's Why The Census Bureau May Be In Your Neighborhood Before The 2020 Count

2:13pm August 12, 2019

by Hansi Lo Wang

Census Bureau workers are spreading out across the U.S. to make sure they have a list of every home address for next year's head count. Getting left out could lead to an inaccurate 2020 census.

This oblique view of the Himalayan landscape was captured by a KH-9 Hexagon satellite on Dec. 20, 1975, on the border between eastern Nepal and Sikkim, India.

I Spy, Via Spy Satellite: Melting Himalayan Glaciers

5:12pm June 19, 2019

by Pien Huang

Scientists are using old spy satellite images to measure the effects of climate change. They're finding that glaciers in the Himalayas are melting twice as fast as they were a few decades earlier.

The circles on the map pinpoint the location of thousands of Chinese-funded development projects. The bigger the circle, the bigger the investment. The largest circles represent projects in the multibillion-dollar range.

China's Building Spree In Poor Nations: Does It Really Help The Local Economy?

3:39pm November 13, 2018

by Joanne Lu

There are a lot of state secrets when it comes to the billions of dollars worth of roads, hospitals and more. Satellite images of night lights may offer some insights into their value.