Satellite imagery of the United States

Map context, a mosaic and dated observations

The default OpenStreetMap background helps you locate coastlines, cities and roads; it is a geographic map rather than satellite photography. Optional EOX/Copernicus Sentinel-2 cloudless supplies a static mosaic, not a new image for the selected day. NASA MODIS and VIIRS layers provide dated regional overviews through GIBS. NASA Blue Marble supplies a lower-detail global fallback. These products serve different purposes and do not form a live video feed.

1. Open the US map. Its selected outline includes Alaska and Hawaii, so the initial national view is broad. Pan and zoom to the part of the country you want to inspect.
2. For a cloudless regional mosaic, open Filters, choose Sentinel-2 cloudless under Base and press Update map. Use OpenStreetMap for road and place context, and read the source information before interpreting either as an observation.
3. For a dated regional view, use Fresh layer and the date control. Read the resolved source and imagery date: Auto archive may select an available date different from the requested day.
4. To compare the detailed background without a NASA overlay obscuring it, select No fresh overlay and press Update map. Turning off a fresh overlay does not change the acquisition date of the background mosaic.

Read mosaic dates separately from the calendar

The Sentinel-2 mosaic is useful for regional land patterns in the Great Plains, coastlines in Florida or broad terrain in the western states. The configured EOX layer is the 2021 mosaic; it does not become current when you open the page. Street labels and roads on OpenStreetMap are map context, not proof that a particular field or building was photographed recently.

The date picker for NASA imagery does not rewind the static Sentinel-2 mosaic or OpenStreetMap. PocketWorld does not expose a verified acquisition date for every basemap tile. Use dated NASA layers for broad comparisons and inspect the original product metadata when an acquisition time matters. Seam lines, season differences and image processing can make neighbouring areas look different without demonstrating a recent land-use change.

Regional observations and their limits

Across California and the western states, a broad NASA view can provide context for a smoke plume. Compare it with the US wildfire perimeter guide: visible smoke is not a fire boundary, and imagery is not an evacuation notice. At the Great Lakes, compare the same source and date convention when looking at cloud or snow patterns. Over Alaska and Hawaii, inspect available NASA and global basemap layers and their source receipts rather than assuming a clear dated image is available everywhere.

Cloud, darkness, processing delays and provider errors can leave gaps or an older background visible. Read the layer's loading or error status before calling that view a successful current observation. More zoom does not add detail beyond the source resolution. These maps support geographic exploration, not navigation, property surveys or emergency decisions.

Check the original imagery information

Read the active source receipt below the map controls. OpenStreetMap supplies the geographic context, EOX/Copernicus Sentinel-2 cloudless supplies the optional static mosaic, and NASA GIBS supplies available dated overview layers. Source, imagery date and loading status are separate facts: a calendar choice alone does not prove that the requested scene loaded.

NASA Worldview is an independent viewer for dated Earth-observation layers. Its dated overview imagery and the static Sentinel-2 mosaic answer different questions. Record the source and acquisition date, not merely the time you opened a web page.

Weather loops and historical US imagery

For satellite weather imagery, use NOAA's satellite maps. They are a separate viewer; this PocketWorld page does not display a GOES weather-animation feed. For land-change research, USGS Landsat data access describes EarthExplorer searches by area and date, plus access to archived products. PocketWorld does not supply those archive downloads or a Landsat change-detection analysis here.

Continue with Live Earth for other Earth layers or Canadian imagery and radar-access guidance for a different regional workflow. The satellite orbit map shows estimated spacecraft positions, not photographs of the ground. Preserve imagery attribution when sharing a view.

Looking for reported aircraft positions instead of ground imagery? Open the US flight tracker for a sample over the mapped states, including Alaska and Hawaii. Read the US public flight-tracking coverage guide when an expected report is missing. Aircraft markers belong to that separate flight view, not this geography map. A basemap mosaic year or NASA imagery date does not supply an aircraft’s report time, route, gate or flight status.