See Burning Man from SPACE: Incredible satellite image shows the sheer scale of the festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert

  • ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission snapped a satellite image of the festival

It’s one of the most famous festivals in the world. 

And now incredible images have revealed exactly what Burning Man looks like from space. 

The festival took place from 25 August to 2 September, and saw 70,000 attendees flock to Nevada’s Black Rock desert. 

On August 26 – the second day of the festival – the European Space Agency’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission snapped a satellite image of the festival.

The stunning image shows the temporary settlement of camper vans and tents grouped together in the desert, with just one main road serving the remote site. 

It’s one of the most famous festivals in the world. And now incredible images have revealed exactly what Burning Man looks like from space

The festival took place from 25 August to 2 September, and saw 70,000 attendees flock to Nevada's Black Rock desert

The festival took place from 25 August to 2 September, and saw 70,000 attendees flock to Nevada’s Black Rock desert

ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission is based on a constellation of two identical satellites flying in the same orbit, but 180° apart. 

Between them, these satellites cover all of Earth’s land and coastal waters every five days. 

One of its latest images shows the sandy area in the southwestern part of Nevada’s Black Rock desert. 

This is the location for Burning Man – a week-long art and self-expression festival, which involves music, art installations, experimental and interactive sculptures, and art cars, among others.

Burning Man is a week-long art and self-expression festival, which involves music, art installations, experimental and interactive sculptures, and art cars, among others

Burning Man is a week-long art and self-expression festival, which involves music, art installations, experimental and interactive sculptures, and art cars, among others

During the event, attendees set up a temporary settlement of camper vans and tents grouped together in the desert

During the event, attendees set up a temporary settlement of camper vans and tents grouped together in the desert

To explore the image in further detail, click on the white circles. 

This will zoom in on specific areas and tell you more about what they show. 

The main focus of the image is the semi-circle in the middle of the desert, which is the temporary settlement of camper vans and tents grouped together. 

This is fed by just one main road, along which the 70,000 attendees travel. 

‘There are very few roads in this area. They can be spotted as straight lines in the image,’ the caption explains. 

Meanwhile, on either side of desert, you’ll notice dark brown areas in the image. 

The hugte festival is fed by just one main road, along which the 70,000 attendees travel

The hugte festival is fed by just one main road, along which the 70,000 attendees travel

‘Rugged mountain ranges are visible in brown on both sides of the white, sandy area,’ the circle on the mountains explains. 

Like most of Nevada, the Black Rock Desert lies within the Great Basin Desert. 

Covering an arid expanse measuring some 492,000 square miles, this is the largest desert in the US. 

On 5 September 2024, a third satellite – called Sentinel-2C – was launched into orbit as part of the Sentinel-2 mission. 

‘Less than two weeks after launch, Sentinel-2C has delivered its stunning first images, proving that the satellite is not only working as expected, but has already surpassed expectations,’ ESA said. 



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