Contest 'Seize the beauty of our Planet' for the best satellite image of Earth

1st place
Copenhagen’s Golden Veins of Urban Life: A Model for Climate-Ready Cities
by Lukumon Lateef from Portugal

This Sentinel-2 image of Copenhagen, Denmark, home to about 1.4 million urban residents, shows how green life weaves through one of Europe’s most liveable capitals. The image composite, created from the infrared and blue bands, highlights vegetation in vibrant golden/ yellow tones, depicting the city’s extensive network of parks, street trees, and other urban vegetation. This stands out against the light blue patterns of urban structures (buildings, roads, and rail corridors) and the deep blue of surrounding waters, including Copenhagen Harbor and surrounding channels. The image captures the balance between a thriving urban area and its green infrastructure, which demonstrates how urban design and nature can coexist. The Sentinel-2 image (Level 2A) was acquired on 24 September 2025.

Modified Copernicus Sentinel-2 data (2025)

3rd place
Just A River Apart
by Ankur Negi from India

Nature often dictates man’s boundaries. From a bird’s-eye view, the political boundaries between the two capitals in two countries disappear - only the natural meandering of the Congo River represents the separation. To the south of the river lies Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo; to the North lies Brazzaville, the capital city of Congo.  This image has been developed using satellite imagery from Sentinel-2 dated 19 August 2025. The visualization has been created using bands (B4, B4, B3).

Modified Copernicus Sentinel-2 data (2025)

The Genesis Of The Great Amazon River - The Meeting of Waters in Manaus - Brazil
by André Vilela from Brazil

This Sentinel-2 image, captured on 24 August 2025, showcases the iconic Meeting of the Waters in Manaus (AM), where the dark waters of the Rio Negro and the sandy green waters of the Solimões River flow side by side for over 6 kilometers without mixing. This spectacular phenomenon marks the formation of the Amazon River, the world’s largest river by volume, and highlights Manaus as a city uniquely positioned at the intersection of urban development and one of the planet’s most dynamic ecosystems. The striking contrast between the rivers results from their distinct origins and properties: the Rio Negro carries acidic, organic-rich water from the rainforest, while the Solimões River, originating in the Peruvian Andes, transports mineral sediments. Differences in temperature (28°C vs. 22°C), density, and flow velocity prevent immediate mixing, creating a visually dramatic boundary observable even from space. The image was processed in True Color (bands 4, 3, 2) and enhanced with the NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index), calculated as (B3–B8) / (B3+B8), using an inverted Deep Sea gradient to emphasize the separation between the rivers and the surrounding urban landscape. This visualization illustrates the intricate hydrological dynamics of the central Amazon, demonstrating how cities and nature coexist in one of the planet’s most extraordinary environments.

Modified Copernicus Sentinel-2 data (2025)

The Contradictions of the COP 30 City - Belém, Pará, in the Brazilian Amazon, where urban growth, rivers, and the world’s most biodiverse forest meet
by Giulia Silveira from Brazil

Belém, the host city of COP 30, is a place of striking contrasts. In this view, the dense Amazon rainforest meets the sprawling urban area and surrounding waterways. This juxtaposition of thriving nature, expanding urbanization, and vital water systems reflects the contradictions of a city preparing to welcome the world to a global climate summit. This image highlights the urgent challenge of balancing urban growth with the preservation of the Amazon, the most biodiverse forest in the world. Location: Belém, Pará, Northern Brazil. Satellite/Data: Sentinel-2, false color composite. Date of observation: 12 August 2025.

Modified Copernicus Sentinel-2 data (2025)

The Metro Breathes into the Bay
by James Rommel Silao from Philippines

This false-color image captures Metro Manila discharging wastewater and urban runoff into Manila Bay through the Pasig River. While this occurrence is common, it remains an alarming indicator that reflects the continuing challenge of managing waste and wastewater disposal in a highly urbanized city like Metro Manila. Ironically, the remaining green spaces in the city (bright-red patches) are golf courses, highlighting the uneven distribution of recreational land among the populace. Just below the plume’s exit, a striking gray feature stands out - artificial islands being constructed as part of a reclamation project aimed at expanding the metro in the face of limited space, but also raises ecological concerns to marine habitats and coastal ecosystems. The metro breathes stronger, but the bay holds its breath.

Modified Copernicus Sentinel-2 data (August 4, 2025)

Brasília’s Unplanned Sprawl - Brazil
by Frederico Ramos from the Netherlands

Brasília, the purpose-built capital of Brazil, stands as one of the most significant experiments in modernist urban planning. Inaugurated in 1960, the city was designed by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer. Its core design, known as the Plano Piloto (Pilot Plan), famously resembles an airplane or a bird in flight. The dream of a perfectly controlled, modernist metropolis, however, quickly clashed with the realities of rapid national development and mass migration. The city’s population growth far exceeded its initial capacity in a remarkably short time, reaching the planned limit by 1970. Today, the metropolitan area of Brasília, encompassing the Federal District and surrounding municipalities, is home to approximately 4.8 to 5 million people, a figure nearly ten times the original planned population for the Pilot Plan.

Modified Copernicus Sentinel-2 data (2025)

Why the theme of Cities and nature?

Urban development poses significant environmental challenges as cities around the world expand to accommodate an increasingly urbanized population, which is expected to reach 68% by 2050 in the world, and 83.7 % in Europe. As cities continue to evolve, understanding the dynamics of urban growth and its environmental implications is crucial for fostering inclusive, resilient, and sustainable urban futures that benefit both our communities and the planet. [1] [2][3]

This rapid urbanization not only drives economic growth – contributing approx. 80% of global GDP – but also exacerbates environmental issues, such as habitat loss, pollution, and increased greenhouse gas emissions, which currently account for about 75% of global emissions. The intricate balance between urban growth and environmental sustainability has made it a critical area of concern for urban planners, policymakers, and environmentalists alike. [4] [5]

Monitoring urban environments from space has become increasingly important. Remote sensing technologies and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide valuable data that can inform sustainable urban planning by enabling assessments of land use, air quality, and the impacts of development on local ecosystems. Earth observation is a backbone of crisis management and risk assessment. [6] [7]

That's why, this year we encourage participants of the contest to share an image that reveals how cities and nature can thrive together, or one that can spotlight today's urban challenges. This can help the public see what’s at stake and motivate leaders to act for greener, safer and resilient urban futures.