Images
June 14, 2026 - Svalbard
Tweet
Clouds parted to show the stunning beauty of the Svalbard archipelago on June 8, 2026, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image.
Svalbard, which is part of Norway, lies roughly midway between mainland Norway and the North pole. There are nine main islands in Svalbard along with many islets and skerries (tiny rocky islands). The main islands are Spitsbergen, North East Land, Edge Island, Barents Island, Prins Karls Foreland, Kvit Island (Gilles Land), Kong Karls Land (Wiche Islands), Bjørn (Bear) Island, and Hopen, The largest island, Spitsbergen, covers more than half the area of the total land mass of the entire archipelago.
Svalbard is remote and sparsely populated but does provide excellent habitat for polar bears. According to Polar Bears International, the population of polar bears in the Svalbard and Barents Sea region is estimated at about 3,000 animals. Only about 300 of these are thought to remain of Svalbard year-round while the majority migrate over the ice, traveling between Svalbard and Russia’s Franz Josef Land.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 6/8/2026
Resolutions:
1km (171.3 KB), 500m (537.5 KB), 250m (1.2 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Clouds parted to show the stunning beauty of the Svalbard archipelago on June 8, 2026, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image.
Svalbard, which is part of Norway, lies roughly midway between mainland Norway and the North pole. There are nine main islands in Svalbard along with many islets and skerries (tiny rocky islands). The main islands are Spitsbergen, North East Land, Edge Island, Barents Island, Prins Karls Foreland, Kvit Island (Gilles Land), Kong Karls Land (Wiche Islands), Bjørn (Bear) Island, and Hopen, The largest island, Spitsbergen, covers more than half the area of the total land mass of the entire archipelago.
Svalbard is remote and sparsely populated but does provide excellent habitat for polar bears. According to Polar Bears International, the population of polar bears in the Svalbard and Barents Sea region is estimated at about 3,000 animals. Only about 300 of these are thought to remain of Svalbard year-round while the majority migrate over the ice, traveling between Svalbard and Russia’s Franz Josef Land.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 6/8/2026
Resolutions:
1km (171.3 KB), 500m (537.5 KB), 250m (1.2 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
