Satellite Captures Autumn Colors in Poland's Bieszczady Mountains

The autumn transformation was underway in southeast Poland's Bieszczady National Park on October 8, 2026, when NASA's Landsat 9 satellite captured the seasonal change. The OLI (Operational Land Imager) on the NASA-USGS satellite recorded the image, according to NASA.

European beech (Fagus sylvatica) dominates the area's forests, with sycamore maple (Acer pseudoplatanus) also contributing to the fall colors. Dropping air temperatures and shorter days caused trees to stop producing chlorophyll, the molecule plants use to make food. Without it, the green pigments faded and yellows and reds appeared.

Beech forests in this area grow only up to about 1,000 to 1,260 meters (3,300 to 4,100 feet) in elevation. Above that are subalpine meadows known as polonina, consisting of open grasslands and shrubby thickets of rowan, willows and green alder.

Portions of Bieszczady National Park are included within UNESCO's network of ancient and primeval beech forests spanning 18 countries. European bison, once extinct in the wild, were reintroduced to the area in the 1960s and now roam the hills by the hundreds, according to recent surveys. Populations of brown bears and Eurasian lynx also live in the forests.

The image was released by NASA on Monday 19 October 2026. NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Lindsey Doermann.