Heavy oil colors the surface of the Gulf of Mexico in this detailed satellite image from May 1, 2010.

Dust ringed the Taklimakan Desert of northwestern China when this true-color satellite image was taken on April 25, 2010.

Resembling the arc of a solar prominence, a bulb of dust curves over the Atlantic Ocean from western Africa in this true-color image from April 22, 2010.

Acquired April 28, 2010 (top), and April 16, 2010 (bottom), these false-color images show changes caused by floods along the Brahmaputra River.

Color codes reveal ash layers at different altitudes during eruptions at Eyjafjallajökull Volcano on April 19, 2010.