Image of the Day for October 26, 2026

A modern satellite makes it possible to pursue the ancient tradition of leaf-peeping in a whole new way.

Oct 26, 2026

Contents

Seeing Red in Vermont

Observing Leaves in a Canopy Near You

References & Resources

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The Japanese tradition of momijigari , or "red leaf hunting," stretches back more than a millennium, as evidenced by ancient poems describing journeys to admire fall foliage. In America, mentions of foliage trips began appearing in the historical record in the 19 th century, around the time artists and poets such as Frederic Church and Emily Dickinson celebrated autumn color in depictions of the Northeast.

Modern-day leaf peepers have a new way to track and savor the seasonal phenomenon. The hyperspectral OCI (Ocean Color Instrument) on NASA's PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) satellite observes the planet's oceans and vegetation daily at 286 spectral bands .…