On November 19, the most scientifically advanced weather satellite will be launched in Earth’s orbit by the United States. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series (GOES-R) will click images of weather and atmospheric phenomena across the United States.
The satellite will be positioned at 35,800 kms above the Earth’s surface, which is nearly one-tenth of the way to the moon.
Once positioned, the GOES-R can take pictures every 30 seconds. This is way too much faster when compared with the current generation of GOES satellites. This quick image capturing will enable the meteorologist to track the latest developments in thunderstorms, hurricanes and other severe storms.
Not just weather, the satellite will also enable meteorologists to check the plumes of wildfire smoke or volcanic ash as they spread.
All this will help the emergency respondents act and deploy their forces better as any weather related emergency situation arrives. The next-gen satellite doesn’t only click pictures quickly; it takes better pictures with a sharper focus and in a broader range of wavelengths than the current GOES satellites.
Stephen Volz, an assistant administrator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said, “It’s like going from black-and-white to a super-high-definition television!”
Japan Meteorological Agency’s Himawari-8 satellite, launched in 2014 and Himawari-9, launched on November 1 have the similar capabilities of GOES-R. These satellites carry an advanced imaging instrument that observes Earth in 16 different wavelength bands, ranging from visible to near-infrared, for different views of atmospheric phenomena.
At nearly US$11 billion in total, GOES-R is the first of four satellites that will be in Earth’s orbit by the year 2036.
Image Credit: NASA
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