This month, our #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet calendar features “Brasília’s Unplanned Sprawl – Brazil” by Frederico Ramos from the Netherlands. We’re heading to Brazil to explore a city that was meant to be perfectly planned, yet reality had other ideas.
Designed as a modernist experiment and inaugurated in 1960, Brasília was intended to be a perfectly controlled capital. As the author notes, “the dream of a perfectly controlled, modernist metropolis quickly clashed with the realities of rapid national development and mass migration.” Seen from space, the image reveals how urban growth expanded far beyond the iconic Plano Piloto (Pilot Plan), reshaping the city well outside its original vision.
Image source: Modified Copernicus Sentinel-2 data (2025).
The “Seize the Beauty of Our Planet” contest organised by CloudFerro, shows outstanding satellite imagery from the Copernicus programme. These images highlight the impact of climate change, remind us of the urgent need for continuous environmental protection, and demonstrate the vital role of Earth observation in this field.
#CloudFerro #CDSE #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet #EarthObservation #EO
In February, our #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet calendar features the 2nd place image from the 2025 edition of the “Seize the beauty of our Planet” contest. Selected under the theme “Cities and nature”, the image “Vancouver – Harmony of People and Nature” by Kamil Onoszko from Poland presents a city built on harmony between people and the natural environment.
The image takes us to Vancouver, where urban life grows side by side with forests, rivers, and mountains. As the author explains, “Vancouver harmoniously combines intensive economic growth with a deep commitment to environmental stewardship, setting an example of a welcoming and sustainable place to live”.
The image contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (August 22, 2025).
Through images like this, the Seize the beauty of our Planet contest shows how satellite Earth Observation can reveal not only change and risk, but also inspiring models of coexistence between people and nature.
#CloudFerro #CDSE #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet #EarthObservation #EO
🌍January opens the 2025 edition of the #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet calendar with the 1st place, "Copenhagen’s Golden Veins of Urban Life: A Model for Climate-Ready Cities" by Lukumon Lateef from Portugal. The imagery reveals how green life weaves through one of Europe’s most liveable capitals.
Generated on the basis of the Sentinel-2’s infrared and blue bands, the scene highlights vegetation in luminous golden tones flowing through pale urban structures and deep blue waters, mapping Copenhagen’s network of parks, street trees, and green corridors.
The image contains modified Copernicus Sentinel-2 data (September 24, 2025)
By bringing together perspectives from across the Earth Observation community, the “Seize the beauty of our Planet” contest connects people, data, and places in a shared reflection on how we inhabit our planet.
#CloudFerro #CDSE #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet #EarthObservation #EO
Generated on the basis of the Sentinel-2’s infrared and blue bands, the scene highlights vegetation in luminous golden tones flowing through pale urban structures and deep blue waters, mapping Copenhagen’s network of parks, street trees, and green corridors.
The image contains modified Copernicus Sentinel-2 data (September 24, 2025)
By bringing together perspectives from across the Earth Observation community, the “Seize the beauty of our Planet” contest connects people, data, and places in a shared reflection on how we inhabit our planet.
#CloudFerro #CDSE #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet #EarthObservation #EO
Some landscapes don’t need movement or sound to reveal a catastrophe — their stillness says everything. Such is the story of Bolivia’s Lake Poopó — the December image of the #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet calendar, titled “The Lake that Became a Desert – The Silence of Poopó”, by Maria Valsoni de Faria from Brazil.
Once among the world’s largest lakes, Lake Poopó has now vanished completely, even during the 2024 rainy season. The white sands and exposed soils of its former basin stand as a stark reminder of extreme environmental degradation and the urgent need for sustainable water management.
Image source: Modified Copernicus Sentinel-2 data (January 8, 2024)
🌍The image is one of the winners of our ‘Seize the beauty of our Planet’ 2024 contest edition for best satellite satellite image of the Earth. Have you already seen the winning works from the 2025 edition?
Find them here 👉 /contest2025/
#CloudFerro #CDSE #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet #EarthObservation #EO
The sea holds worlds unseen, yet remains one of the planet’s most delicate realms. That is why in October, the #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet calendar presents “A Fragile Paradise – Belize’s Coral Reefs from Above” prepared by Lorenzo Amici from Italy.
Belize’s coral reef, the largest in the Northern Hemisphere and a UNESCO World Heritage site, is under severe threat. Rising sea temperatures, acidification, and stronger storms endanger this fragile ecosystem, vital for biodiversity and local livelihoods.
Image: Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (February 15, 2023)
🌍 The image is one of the winners of 'Seize the beauty of our Planet' 2024 contest for best satellite image of the Earth. Now the 6th edition of the contest is open!
If you are interested in Earth Observation and satellite imagery, join the contest and win attractive prizes 👉 /contest2025/
This year’s theme: Cities and nature.
Show how urban spaces can thrive in harmony with the natural world, or highlight the environmental challenges cities face today. Your image can help inspire communities and decision-makers to build greener, more resilient urban futures.
#CloudFerro #CDSE #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet #EarthObservation #EO
🌍Join the 6th international competition ‘Seize the beauty of our Planet’ 2025 for the best satellite image of Earth.
This year’s theme: 🌱 Cities & Nature
We’re inviting Earth observation specialists, researchers, and satellite-data users to showcase how cities and nature can thrive together or spotlight today’s urban challenges.
What to submit?
* 🛰️ A single satellite image of an urban area (no text/labels)
* Generated using Copernicus EO platforms (e.g., CREODIAS, Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem, WEkEO, CODE-DE, EO-Lab)
* Min. 250 dpi and 6500×5000 px
* Add the place, satellite, acquisition date, and a description
📅 Deadline for submitting the image: Oct 26
Prizes:
* 1st Apple iPad 10.9” 64GB,
* 2nd Apple Watch SE (2nd gen),
* 3rd Apple AirPods 4.
* Plus: entries admitted to Phase 1 receive our desk 2026 calendar featuring the winning images.
Send us the image of a city of your choice and help inspire better, nature-positive urban planning.
/contest2025/
What happens on the ground echoes into orbit, leaving traces visible in satellite imagery – as shown on the September page of the #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet calendar, which features a powerful image captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2 and prepared by Chinmai G Megalamane from India.
“Cyclone’s Wake: Porto Alegre Submerged - When waters rise: Porto Alegre faces the wrath of climate change” shows the aftermath of Cyclone Extratropical. The storm triggered severe flooding across southern Brazil, with Porto Alegre among the worst affected. This image vividly shows the destructive impact of climate change-induced cyclone.
The image contains Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A modified data (June 30, 2024).
The “Seize the beauty of our Planet” contest organised by CloudFerro shows outstanding satellite imagery from the Copernicus programme. These images highlight the impact of climate change and remind us of the urgent need for continuous environmental monitoring through Earth Observation.
#CloudFerro #CDSE #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet #EarthObservation #EO
In August, the #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet calendar image takes us to the Frisian Islands captured by Copernicus Sentinel-2, and beautifully prepared by Marek Gryboś from Poland.
These islands, stretching 5–32 km from the mainland, extend in an arc from northern Netherlands, eastward along the Dutch and German coasts and the southern part of the Jutland Peninsula coast (Denmark). In 2009 this unique ecosystem was included in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List.
The image contains Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (June 1, 2020)
The “Seize the beauty of our Planet” contest organized by CloudFerro highlights the impacts of climate change and the urgent need for continued environmental monitoring through Earth Observation.
#CloudFerro #CDSE #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet #EarthObservation #EO
🛰️In July, the #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet calendar features a satellite imagery prapared by Johannes Albert from Germany, awarded 2nd place in last year’s edition of the contest for best EO image of the Earth.
The image “Nature’s Capillary Networks – Mangroves: Climate Allies at Risk” captures the delicate mangrove forests of the Hara Biosphere Reserve. These vital ecosystems, known for storing up to five times more carbon than terrestrial forests, are shrinking under pressure from climate change and human activity.
The image contains Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (October 19, 2024).
The featured image comes from the 5th edition of the “Seize the beauty of our Planet” contest organised by CloudFerro, which invites members of the Earth Observation community to share remarkable satellite imagery from the Copernicus programme.
#CloudFerro #CDSE #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet #EarthObservation #EO
🛰️The #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet contest organised by CloudFerro highlights the impact of climate change and the urgent need for continued environmental monitoring through Earth Observation.
In June, we present a satellite imagery prepared by Adrian Bobowski from Poland, which captures a huge flood on the Odra and Nysa Kłodzka Rivers. The image of Lewin Brzeski in the Opole Voivodeship (Poland) shows dramatic effects of heavy and sudden rainfall that struck the southwestern part of the country last year.
The image contains Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (September 18, 2024).
#CloudFerro #CDSE #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet #EarthObservation #EO
🛰️In May, the #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet 2024 calendar features a satellite imagery by Klaudia Kościuk from Poland, awarded 3rd place in last year’s edition of the contest.
Her work titled "(Perma)frost – Yakutia" captures the fragile and rapidly changing landscape of permafrost in Andryushkino, Yakutia. Once considered permanent, permafrost is now melting due to accelerating climate change. This thawing process threatens to release vast amounts of methane, which traps 80 times more heat than carbon – potentially triggering a dangerous feedback loop that further warms the planet.
The image contains Copernicus Sentinel-2 modified data (August 7, 2024).
🌎The featured image comes from the 5th edition of the “Seize the beauty of our Planet” contest organised by CloudFerro, which invites members of the Earth Observation community to share remarkable satellite imagery from the Copernicus programme.
In the 2024 edition, we sought out views of places that deserve preservation in the face of growing environmental challenges.
#CloudFerro #CDSE #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet #EarthObservation #EO
🌎Today, on Earth Day, we’re reminded of our shared responsibility to care for the Earth. It’s a time to reflect not only on the beauty of the planet, but also on the environmental challenges we face, and the urgent need to act.
In April, the #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet 2024 contest calendar presents a striking and urgent view captured by Ricardo de Faria Nicolau from Brazil, showing large-scale wildfires in South America.
The image reveals alarming concentrations of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere, represented in red. These emissions result from the intense burning of vegetation, particularly in Brazil and Bolivia. The wildfires led to heavy smoke and reduced visibility in many cities, underlining the severe environmental impact of such disasters.
Image source: Copernicus Sentinel-5P modified data (September 5-10, 2024).
💡The “Seize the beauty of our Planet” contest, organised by CloudFerro, draws attention to the effects of climate change and emphasises the urgent need for ongoing environmental monitoring through Earth Observation (EO).
#CloudFerro #CDSE #SeizeTheBeautyOfOurPlanet #EarthObservation #EO
