What can you see on this newest international image of Earth? There are crisp turquoise seas round Cuba, an agricultural fireplace in Northern India and, in fact, the remainder of our planet as seen within the first full view from NOAA’s newest Earth-observing satellite NOAA-21.
The Earth pictures that make up this mosaic, and some closeups, had been taken on Dec. 5 and Dec. 6 by an instrument known as the Seen Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the satellite, which launched on Nov. 10 from the Vandenberg House Power Base on Nov. 10. (The spacecraft was beforehand known as JPSS-2.) VIIRS collects pictures in each the seen and infrared gentle spectra, permitting scientists to see particulars of Earth’s floor.
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VIIRS gives very important info to scientists about Earth’s oceans, ambiance and land. It will possibly detect variations within the ocean’s coloration, telling scientists the place phytoplankton are, or whether or not harmful algal blooms have shaped alongside human-settled coasts. The instrument’s atmospheric information might help scientists forecast and monitor storm motion.
NOAA-21 is the second operational satellite in a collection known as the Joint Polar Satellite tv for pc System, which gives international, pole-to-pole pictures. The last JPSS satellite, now often called NOAA-20, launched in November 2017. Earlier than that, the NOAA-NASA Suomi Nationwide Polar-Orbiting Partnership (Suomi-NPP), which supplied a blueprint for the JPSS, launched in 2011.
The satellites orbit pole-to-pole, observing the whole lot of Earth’s floor twice per day. It cruises 512 miles (824 kilometers) above Earth at 17,000 mph (27,360 kph) and crosses the equator 14 instances per day. And so they all carry a VIIRS instrument.
The third JPSS satellite is slated to launch (opens in new tab) in 2027, and the fourth doesn’t yet (opens in new tab) have a launch date.
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