This fleeting red flash above a thunderstorm cloud is one of Earth's most elusive electrical phenomena! They're called sprites! Fun fact: This image was captured by citizen scientist Nicolas Escurat through the citizen science project Spritacular. ✨

Studying other worlds can start in unexpected places... right here on Earth. On Dec. 10, we're talking with NASA scientists who explore some of our planet's most extreme environments. Share your questions in advance using #AskNASA: https://t.co/WSPUE5xYUL

Learn more about the Moon:

Look up at the Moon tonight—it’s the last full Moon of the year! 🌕 The full Moon on Thursday, Dec. 4 will also be a supermoon, when the Moon looks a bit bigger and brighter than usual because it’s at the point in its orbit nearest to Earth.

What are these green swirls in the water? This timelapse of #Landsat images shows the explosive growth of toxic algae in Nevada’s Pyramid Lake in 2024. Satellite data can warn us about poor water quality and help track harmful algae blooms.

@NASA This Landsat 8 satellite image shows farmland around Peoria in central Illinois—a major hub of pumpkin growing and processing. Illinois is the top producer of pumpkins in the United States, especially for those used in canning and cooking.

What’s on your #Thanksgiving table? 🍽️ Whether it’s mashed potatoes or cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie or apple, @NASA may have been involved! Our satellites monitor crop health from space, helping farmers around the world grow the ingredients in your Thanksgiving dinner.

The ozone hole over Antarctica is slowly recovering, according to @nasa & @noaa’s long-term record. This year’s ozone hole was the 5th-smallest on record, reaching an annual maximum extent of 8.83 million square miles on Sept. 9, 2025. https://t.co/becxmD6aKl

But what causes the leaves to change? As air temperatures drop and the days get shorter, plants stop producing chlorophyll, a green pigment used in photosynthesis. This gives other leaf pigments the chance to show off their colors! Learn more:

See the leaves change color in the Ozarks 🍂 NASA’s Terra satellite captured these images of The Ozark Highlands in October, when the leaves were mostly still green, and again in November, when many of the leaves had turned red or brown.

Can you be-leaf it’s fall? We sure can — especially with NASA’s PACE satellite! PACE can detect subtle shifts in leaf color that our eyes can’t see, helping scientists track changes in fall foliage to better understand these ecosystems. Now that’s some good leaf peeping! 🍁

A relay race...but in space! 🏃‍♀️🛰️ Sentinel-6B is next in a long line of satellites that have been tracking sea level changes for more than 30 years. It launched successfully on Nov. 16 at 9:21 pm PT.

Launch success 🚀👏 Teams have received full acquisition of signal from Sentinel-6B, indicating that we are communicating with the satellite and it is functioning nominally. Congratulations to the Sentinel-6B mission teams! https://t.co/lMUhFdarwD

Liftoff! The latest in a long line of satellites to monitor sea level change, Sentinel-6B, successfully launched at 12:21am ET (0521 UTC) on Monday, Nov. 17 from Vandenberg Space Force Base. 🚀🌊

📣 T-1 hour until launch coverage begins for Sentinel-6B. This newest Earth satellite will measure sea levels more than ~90% of Earth's ocean. Liftoff is scheduled for 9:21pm PT. Watch here: https://t.co/MGb32uMbym

Launching tonight: Sentinel-6B 🛰️ 🌊 This new satellite will extend a record of 30+ years of sea level data to improve weather forecasts, keep ships safe at sea, and protect coastal communities.

🔴 LIVE NOW: Sentinel-6B will continue a record of more than 30 years of sea level and ocean data. Tune in to hear mission experts discuss details of this new satellite before it launches Nov. 16: https://t.co/pNobpPvrY6

Sentinel-6B will measure sea levels for about 90% of the ocean, information that will help protect coastal communities from flooding and improve weather forecasts. 🚀 Here are 6 things to know before it launches on Nov. 16: https://t.co/tgNSJc1MmU

This new satellite will measure sea levels for almost all of Earth’s ocean 🌊 Sentinel-6B adds to a sea level data record spanning over 30 years—information that helps improve weather forecasts, keep ships safe, and ensure astronauts splash down safely. https://t.co/kGBBCQoKeM