Images
October 10, 2026 - Fall Colors in the Midwest
Tweet
Each autumn, as temperatures drop and daylight shortens, vegetation responds to the changing conditions. The most well-known transformation is the spectacular show put on by deciduous trees as they lose chlorophyll, the molecule that plants use to synthesize food. Chlorophyll makes plants appear green and it needs to be continually produced in order for the plant to stay green. Production of chlorophyll requires warm air temperatures and adequate daylight, so as chlorophyll wanes during autumn, the color of other pigments in the leaves burst through. This creates a gorgeous show of yellows, greens, oranges, and reds.
While changing leaves are dramatic, they are hardly the only show. Crops such as corn, soybean, and wheat also lose chlorophyll, allowing hidden yellows and tans to shine through. Some pasture grasses also take on a tan hue. Most crops are more cold-sensitive than deciduous trees and respond to the changing seasons earlier, creating sweeping fields of yellow early in the season.
On October 7, 2026, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this early-autumn, true-color image of brilliant hues blanketing the fields of the Upper Midwest.
Gray pixels mark the major city of Chicago, Illinois on the southwestern tip of Lake Michigan. The primary states captured in this image include Illinois (west) and Indiana (east), both states centered in the heart of the corn-and-wheat belt as well as within the American tallgrass prairie.
The bright yellows and rich tans mark autumn changes typically of these grasslands. According to fall foliage websites, deciduous tree color remained “low” in early October, with peak leaf color not expected until late October.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 10/7/2026
Resolutions:
1km (347.9 KB), 500m (986.3 KB), 250m (680.7 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Each autumn, as temperatures drop and daylight shortens, vegetation responds to the changing conditions. The most well-known transformation is the spectacular show put on by deciduous trees as they lose chlorophyll, the molecule that plants use to synthesize food. Chlorophyll makes plants appear green and it needs to be continually produced in order for the plant to stay green. Production of chlorophyll requires warm air temperatures and adequate daylight, so as chlorophyll wanes during autumn, the color of other pigments in the leaves burst through. This creates a gorgeous show of yellows, greens, oranges, and reds.
While changing leaves are dramatic, they are hardly the only show. Crops such as corn, soybean, and wheat also lose chlorophyll, allowing hidden yellows and tans to shine through. Some pasture grasses also take on a tan hue. Most crops are more cold-sensitive than deciduous trees and respond to the changing seasons earlier, creating sweeping fields of yellow early in the season.
On October 7, 2026, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this early-autumn, true-color image of brilliant hues blanketing the fields of the Upper Midwest.
Gray pixels mark the major city of Chicago, Illinois on the southwestern tip of Lake Michigan. The primary states captured in this image include Illinois (west) and Indiana (east), both states centered in the heart of the corn-and-wheat belt as well as within the American tallgrass prairie.
The bright yellows and rich tans mark autumn changes typically of these grasslands. According to fall foliage websites, deciduous tree color remained “low” in early October, with peak leaf color not expected until late October.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 10/7/2026
Resolutions:
1km (347.9 KB), 500m (986.3 KB), 250m (680.7 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
