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An observation made by NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) shows the chemical signatures of water ice (shown in bright blue) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (orange) in Cygnus X, one of the most active and turbulent regions of star birth in our Milky Way galaxy. The image was released on April 15, 2026, along with a study detailing the observation.

One of SPHEREx’s main goals is to map the chemical signatures of various types of interstellar ice. This ice includes molecules like water, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide, which are vital to the chemistry that allows life to develop. Researchers believe these ice reservoirs, attached to the surfaces of tiny dust grains, are where most of the universe’s water is formed and stored. The water in Earth’s oceans — and the ices in comets and on other planets and moons in our galaxy — originates from these regions.

SPHEREx launched March 11, 2025, and has the unique ability to see the sky in 102 colors, each representing a different wavelength of infrared light that offers distinctive information about galaxies, stars, planet-forming regions, and other cosmic features.

Read more about what SPHEREx found.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/IPAC/Hora et al.

April 16, 2025

April 11, 2026

April 16, 2025April 11, 2026

April 16, 2025

April 11, 2026

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Image Details

The Grand River in Michigan flooded after above-average rainfall in March and April 2026 (right). A false-color image from April 11, 2026 (right), is compared with a view of the same location on April 16, 2025 (left). The 2025 and 2026 images were acquired with the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 and Landsat 9, respectively.

The start of spring 2026 brought bouts of heavy rain to much of Michigan. Above-normal levels of precipitation in March and early April—exacerbated by snowmelt in the northern part of the state—saturated soils and caused damaging flooding along multiple rivers. A flood watch spanned the entirety of both the upper and lower peninsulas as rain continued to fall in mid-April.

Flooding along the Grand River—Michigan’s longest—near Grand Rapids is visible in the image above (right), acquired on April 11, 2026. For comparison, the left image shows the area the previous April. The images are false-color to better distinguish water from vegetation and other land cover.

At the time of the 2026 image, river gauge data showed the Grand River at Comstock Park was in minor flood stage. The river had crested on April 8 at about half a foot beneath the major flood level at this gauge, making it one of the harder-hit locations along the river. Water had already submerged roads and trails along its banks and encroached on homes, according to news reports, and more water was still to come. After another round of rain, the river was rising again as of April 16, with the potential to reach one of the highest levels on record in Grand Rapids.

The area has been beset by many weeks of soggy weather. Grand Rapids saw approximately double the normal March rainfall totals in 2026. In the first half of April, it received 5.79 inches (147 millimeters), exceeding the average for the entire month by nearly 2 inches.

The story is similar throughout the state. To the north, where an above-normal snowpack still covered the ground, abundant rainfall combined with melt to amplify flooding. Floodwaters in the northern Lower Peninsula washed out roads, including part of a scenic drive, and rendered airport runways unusable. The buildup of water has also stressed dams around the state. Officials have been monitoring several reservoirs that are close to overtopping and have advised some residents to prepare to evacuate.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

Downloads

April 16, 2025

JPEG (8.44 MB)

April 11, 2026

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References & Resources

• Bridge Michigan (2026, April 16) Michigan flood watch: Newaygo urges evacuations; Cheboygan Dam waters rise. Accessed April 16, 2026.
• FOX 17 (2026, April 5) Grand River forecast to reach major flood stage near Comstock Park. Accessed April 16, 2026.
• MLive (2026, April 15) All of Michigan under Flood Watch as roads washed out, dams fail, people evacuated. Accessed April 16, 2026.
• The New York Times (2026, April 15) Dam Failure Could Imperil Thousands in Northern Michigan. Accessed April 16, 2026.
• NOAA (2026) National Water Prediction Service. Accessed April 16, 2026.
• WGRD (2026, April 15) How the Current Grand River Flood Ranks Historically. Accessed April 16, 2026.

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The Republic of Latvia will sign the Artemis Accords during a ceremony at 9 a.m. EDT Monday, April 20, at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will host Dace Melbārde, Latvia’s minister for education and science; Jānis Beķeris, chargé d’affaires at the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia to the United States; and Jacob Helberg, under secretary of state for economic affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

This event is in person only. Media interested in attending must RSVP no later than 3 p.m. on Friday, April 17, to: hq-media@mail.nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is online.

The signing ceremony will take place in the James E. Webb Memorial Auditorium at NASA Headquarters in the Mary W. Jackson building, 300 E Street SW.

In 2020, during the first Trump Administration, the United States, led by NASA and the State Department, joined with seven other founding nations to establish the Artemis Accords, responding to the growing interest in lunar activities by both governments and private companies.

The accords introduced the first set of practical principles aimed at enhancing the safety, transparency, and coordination of civil space exploration on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Latvia will be the 62nd country to sign the Artemis Accords.

Learn more about the Artemis Accords at:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-accords

-end-

Camille Gallo / Elizabeth Shaw
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
camille.m.gallo@nasa.gov / elizabeth.a.shaw@nasa.gov

In this photo taken on April 6, 2026, a portion of the Moon’s far side is seen along the terminator—the boundary between lunar day and night—where low-angle sunlight casts long shadows across the surface.

A section of Orientale Basin is visible along the upper right portion of the lunar disk, its structure subtly revealed under grazing illumination. This lighting enhances contrast across the cratered terrain, highlighting variations in surface features and providing insight into the Moon’s geologic history.

See more imagery from the Artemis II mission.

Credit: NASA

In a remote part of northern Mauritania on the Adrar Plateau lies a desert landscape rich in human history. This region of northwestern Africa is sprinkled with Paleolithic stone tools, Neolithic cave paintings, and the remains of medieval towns once used by caravans crossing the Sahara Desert.

When viewed from space, the landscape appears to be shaped most prominently by natural forces. Wind sculpted the seas of colorful sand dunes and scoured plateaus capped with dark desert pavement, while ancient flowing water carved valleys and networks of dried river channels.

But the region’s most eye-catching feature when seen from above is the Richat Structure—a large geologic formation made of concentric ridges on the eastern side of the plateau. French geographers first described the feature in the 1930s, calling it the Richat “buttonhole.” NASA astronauts Ed White and James McDivitt helped bring wider global attention to what became known as “The Eye of the Sahara” after photographing it during their history-making Gemini IV mission.

The 40-kilometer-wide (25-mile-wide) structure was initially thought to be an impact crater because large meteors can produce circular features on Earth’s surface. However, researchers later showed that it is actually a deeply eroded geologic dome formed by the uplift of rock above an underground intrusion of igneous material. Over time, differing erosion rates among rock types in the exposed upper dome led to the development of circular ridges known as cuestas. The orange and gray colors reflect differences in sedimentary and igneous rock types across the structure and the surrounding landscape.

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Adam Voiland.

Downloads

March 5 and March 6, 2026

JPEG (9.03 MB)

References & Resources

• Abdeina, E.H., et al. (2024) How old is the Eye of Africa? A polyphase history for the igneous Richat Structure, Mauritania. Lithos, 107698.
• Abdeina, E.H., et al. (2021) Geophysical modelling of the deep structure of the Richat magmatic intrusion (northern Mauritania): insights into its kinematics of emplacement. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 14(22), 2315.
• The Debrief (2021, April 16) The Richat Structure: The “Eye of the Sahara” is One of Earth’s Strangest Marvels. Accessed April 8, 2026.
• Géoconscience, Adrar Plateau. Accessed April 8, 2026.
• International Commission on Geoheritage, Richat Structure, A Cretaceous Alkaline Complex. Accessed April 8, 2026.
• Matton, G., et al. (2005) Resolving the Richat enigma: Doming and hydrothermal karstification above an alkaline complex. Geology, 33 (8), 665-668.
• Matton, G. & Jébrak, M. (2014) The “eye of Africa” (Richat dome, Mauritania): An isolated Cretaceous alkaline–hydrothermal complex. Journal of African Earth Sciences, 97, 109-124.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2022, July 10) The Eye of the Sahara. Accessed April 8, 2026.
• National Archives (1965, June 4) Richat Structure. Accessed April 8, 2026.

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