Stunning global image of Earth taken by a NASA satellite
It’s a striking image of our planet, capturing everything from the bright blue hue of the Caribbean Sea to the dense smog over the north India.
But aside from providing a new global perspective of Earth from space, the photo is just the start of a new science mission that will monitor ocean ecology and marine health, as well as track wildfires, droughts and floods. .
That’s because it was created by a recently launched NASA satellite, NOAA-21, which experts hope will provide vital information about our planet’s oceans, atmosphere and land.
The Earth-observing spacecraft carries an instrument known as the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), which began collecting data in early December, producing a mosaic of frames over a 24-hour period.
Stunning: This photo not only offers a new global perspective of Earth from space, but is just the start of a new science mission that will monitor ocean ecology and marine health, as well as monitor wildfires, droughts and floods
It captures everything from the clear blue Caribbean Sea (pictured) to the snow-capped Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau
It broke all sorts of features, including the snow-capped Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau, to the haze and smog over northern India caused by agricultural fires.
VIIRS measures sea surface temperature, a metric important for monitoring hurricane formation, while monitoring ocean color helps monitor phytoplankton activity – an important indicator of ocean ecology and marine health.
“The turquoise color visible around Cuba and the Bahamas in the lower left image above comes from sediment in the shallow waters around the continental shelf,” said Dr. Satya Kalluri, a program scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Over land, VIIRS can detect and measure wildfires, droughts and floods, and the data can be used to track the thickness and movement of wildfire smoke.
The instrument also provides analysis of snow and ice cover, clouds, fog, aerosols and dust, and the health of the world’s crops.
It collects images in both the visible and infrared light spectrum, allowing scientists to see details of the Earth’s surface.
One of the main uses is producing images over Alaska, Dr Kalluri added, because satellites such as NOAA-21 orbit from the North Pole to the South Pole, so they fly directly over it several times a day arctic.
It also has what is known as a Day-Night Band, which captures images of lights at night, including city lights, lightning, auroras, and lights from ships and fires.
“VIIRS serves so many disciplines, it’s an absolutely critical set of measurements,” said Dr. James Gleason, NASA project scientist for the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Flight Project.
“VIIRS provides many different data products that are used by scientists in unrelated fields, from agricultural economists trying to make crop predictions, to air quality scientists predicting where wildfire smoke will be, to disaster support teams counting night lights to determine the impact of a disaster.”
NOAA-21 is the second operational satellite in the JPSS series, launched into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Nov. 10.
The previous one – known as NOAA-20 – was launched in November 2017.
Covered: It also broke haze and smog over northern India (pictured), which experts say was caused by agricultural burning
NOAA-21 (pictured in an artist’s impression) is the second operational satellite in the JPSS series, launched into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Nov. 10.
Both craft will observe the entire Earth’s surface twice a day as they sail 824 kilometers above our planet at a speed of 27,360 km/h.
A third JPSS satellite will be launched in 2027 and a fourth in 2032.
Another research satellite, the Suomi-NPP, launched into space in 2011, served as the blueprint for the JPSS series.
“We are launching several weather satellites to make sure that we always have one twice and now three times. Space is a dangerous environment,” said Dr. Gleason.
“Things happen and you can lose an instrument or a satellite, but we can’t lose the data. It’s too important, for too many people.’
NOAA-21 will be the 21st polar satellite operated by NOAA and will have a lifetime of approximately seven years.
If you enjoyed this article…
How about viewing some of the strange and wonderful new exoplanets discovered in 2022including water worlds and a gas giant ‘in the womb’
Or do you speak alien? Scientists say Earth must now prepare for an encounter with aliens before it’s too late
Meanwhile, a study has found that Comet ATLAS may be a remnant of a mysterious fireball which swept within 23 million miles of the sun 5,000 years ago
#Stunning #global #image #Earth #NASA #satellite