Nation · Lead Story · 2026-10-16
New satellite analysis maps power disruption and returning lights in Florida
NASA’s October 16 review compares observations after Hurricane Isaias with pre-storm nighttime conditions.
NASA published a new analysis October 16 showing how nighttime lighting changed along the Florida Panhandle after Hurricane Isaias. The review uses Black Marble HD satellite products to examine areas around Pensacola and the coastal corridor toward Destin.
The analysis compares typical lighting in an August composite with October 11 observations. Large reductions in visible nighttime lights suggest widespread power disruption after the storm’s October 9 landfall.
Some lights had returned by October 12, and NASA says the regional lighting pattern looked similar to pre-storm conditions by October 14. That observation does not prove that every individual customer had electricity restored.
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Environment · 2026-10-15
NASA combines ocean height, heat and colour data to track El Niño
A new satellite review describes changes across the equatorial Pacific without turning them into a local weather forecast.
NASA’s October 15 update brings together satellite measurements of ocean height, surface temperature and ocean colour to examine the developing 2026 El Niño. The climate pattern involves unusually warm water in parts of the equatorial Pacific.
Sentinel-6 altimetry helps researchers follow movements of warm water and changes in sea level. NASA describes warm-water pulses moving eastward across the Pacific and a weakening or reversal of the trade winds that normally move in the opposite direction.
Read articleScience · 2026-10-15
Japan’s Mars-moons mission prepares for launch with NASA instruments
MMX will investigate Phobos and Deimos and aims to return material from Phobos to Earth in 2031.
NASA outlined its contributions to Japan’s Martian Moons eXploration mission in an October 15 update. JAXA is targeting launch from Tanegashima at 3:41 p.m. Eastern on October 19, corresponding to the morning of October 20 in Japan.
MMX is intended to investigate whether Phobos and Deimos originated from an impact on Mars or were captured asteroids. The spacecraft will study the moons and collect material from Phobos for return to Earth.
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