Autumn on Earth is generally known as a colourful spectacle. Yet what many of us maybe don’t realise is that this natural phenomenon can just as well be observed from space.
Satellites have become an indispensable tool and source of information over the past few decades. Nowadays, they are used for a wide array of applications, going from navigation to space observation and everything in between. And, every now and then, the data observed by those satellites is worthy of a piece of art.
Both the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA have been releasing images of autumn on Earth, but seen from Space. The results are just as stunning and colourful as one might imagine and allow us to get a broader sense of this natural phenomenon, caused by trees ceasing to produce chlorophyll due to colder temperatures and shorter daylight hours.
The ESA released three separate satellite images: one depicting the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines in Italy, one showing the western border of Greece and North Macedonia and one of the southeastern Carpathian Mountains in Romania. All show varying hues of greens and browns, giving us an idea of the different temperatures at varying heights. The three regions are all rich in European beech, or Fagus Sylvatica, known for its majestic colour changes.
NASA in its turn also released several satellite images of autumn on Earth. One of them depicts the so-called Michigan Mitten, Michigan’s Lower Peninsula known for its brightly-coloured maple trees. This phenomenon can clearly be observed in the images taken from space, while the same image also allows us to detect other species of trees going southwards, with many conifers throughout the state providing an unchanging backdrop of green.
Another remarkable image released by the space agency is that of Northern Mongolia, specifically showing the forests around Lake Hövsgöl. As NASA posted a picture of this summer as a comparison, it is not hard to see the difference a season (or a month) makes.
The high-altitude forests mainly consist of Siberian larch or Larix Sibirica, which takes on a bright yellow colour in autumn. As the season is fairly short in Mongolia, chances are the bright colours have already changed out for a thick layer of snow and ice by now.
