Construction of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant began in the early 1970s with Units 1 and 2. In the 1975 image (left), you can see some early construction as well as the early development of the cooling pond. The pond is clearly seen in the subsequent images. On 26 April 1986, the Unit 4 reactor was destroyed in a major nuclear accident. The 1986 image (centre) was acquired three days later. The agricultural fields that are present in both the 1975 and 1986 images were abandoned and left untended as the surrounding region was evacuated. By 2011 (right), all of the units have been shut down (the last in 1999). In this springtime image, the evidence of previous cultivation can still be seen, but the fields have largely reverted to grassland

Photograph: Landsat/USGS/NASA