File:Clear skies over the North Sea and Western Europe (MODIS 2020-04-24).jpg

English: On April 22, 2020, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a beautiful true-color image of clear skies over the North Sea and surrounding countries.

Springtime in Western Europe brings warming temperatures and longer daylight hours, spurring on snowmelt and encouraging vegetative growth. On land, trees bud and blossom and leaves burst forth. In the warming waters of the cool North Sea, springtime often promotes the growth of phytoplankton—microscopic plant-like organisms that live in these waters year round. When conditions are right, they reproduce explosively, creating large blooms that can be easily seen from space. The swirls of tan and green, visible near the shore, are likely primarily from sediment washed into the waters from land or via rivers, or from the action of currents in shallow areas. Away from shore, however, milky blue as well as green streaks are more likely early blooms of phytoplankton.

Parts of fourteen countries are visible in this image. Starting in the north and moving roughly clockwise they are: snow-covered Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, France and England.