London viewed by earth-observatory satellite of the European Space agency

London
London appears as a cluster of radar reflections along the River Thames in this image captured using the satellite's Interferometric Wide Swath mode with dual polarisation. Source: Copernicus data/ESA 2015

Aral sea from Earth Observatory satellite images by European Space Agency

This image of the Aral Sea, located on the border between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in Central Asia was created by combining three radar scans from Sentinel-1a. Different colours represent changes between the acquisitions. Source: Copernicus Data/ESA

Image of Tokyo from the European Space Agency's Earth Observing Satellite Project

The Project, which is part of the ESA's Copernicus program, was created for land and sea monitoring, mapping of natural disasters, and sea ice observation. Here we look at some of the amazing imagery those first 12 months have produced, including incredible cityscapes, meandering glaciers, and the terrain following a magnitude 6.0 earthquake striking California's Napa Valley in August, 2014. Pictured here, the density of Tokyo's urban landscape is shown by bright radar reflections, the polar opposite of the Minami-Bōsō Quasi-National Park pictured to the southwest of Tokyo Bay. Photo: ESA