ESA's Sentinel 3C Just Sent Back Stunning First Images of Italy and the Arctic

Two weeks after launching into orbit, the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel 3C satellite has already delivered its first images, and they are absolutely worth a look. The batch includes vivid shots of Italy, the Canadian Arctic, and the Caribbean, giving us that classic“Earth from space”wow factor in full color.

But Sentinel 3C isn’t just here for the aesthetics. The satellite used its radar altimeter to measure the height of Greenland’s ice sheet and the sea surface, data that helps scientists monitor climate, oceans, and land over the long term. It’s the third satellite in the Sentinel-3 series, continuing a mission built on tracking how our planet changes.

Full commissioning of the satellite will take another five months, which means this is only the beginning of what it can do. More images, more data, more reasons to appreciate the view from above. Which spot on Earth would you want a satellite to photograph next? Let us know in the comments.