Satellite image of Dubai's coastline and the Palm Jumeirah

OrbitalStory / A visual Earth atlas

The planet
never stands still.

Five places. Decades of satellite imagery. Explore the changes you can see from above.

Explore the atlas Start with Dubai

Featured image: Dubai, 2025 · Sentinel-2 · ESA/Copernicus

01 / Explore by place

An atlas of change.

Move across the map or use the story list. Each point opens a place, its imagery and the story already documented by OrbitalStory.

Map loads when in view
01Dubai, UAEUrban Explosion02Aral Sea, Central AsiaVanishing Water03Rondonia, BrazilForest Frontiers04Nevada/Arizona, USAVanishing Water05Ari Atoll, MaldivesEarth as Art

02 / Selected stories

Read the landscape.

View all stories ↗
Dubai, UAE from satellite imagery01 / Urban Explosion

Dubai, UAE · 1990–2025

From Desert to Megacity in 35 Years

Aral Sea, Central Asia from satellite imagery02 / Vanishing Water

Aral Sea, Central Asia · 1990–2025

The Sea That Vanished

Rondonia, Brazil from satellite imagery03 / Forest Frontiers

Rondonia, Brazil · 2000–2024

The Advancing Edge

Nevada/Arizona, USA from satellite imagery04 / Vanishing Water

Nevada/Arizona, USA · Landsat 7 + Sentinel-2

The Bathtub Ring

Ari Atoll, Maldives from satellite imagery05 / Earth as Art

Ari Atoll, Maldives · Sentinel-2

Islands at the Edge

03 / Follow a theme

Four ways to look closer.

01 / 2 storiesVanishing Water↗02 / 1 storyUrban Explosion↗03 / 1 storyForest Frontiers↗04 / 1 storyEarth as Art↗

Look beyond the frame

Earth, in motion.
And in orbit.

OrbitalStory follows what changes on the ground. Orbital Earth lets you explore the satellites overhead and the data behind their paths.

Open the live satellite tracker