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Satellite Weather Images

Students now have ready access to live satellite photos of Earth's clouds and weather. These photos are shown on evening weather broadcasts, often appear in newspapers, and are featured in a 24-hour channel on cable TV (the Weather Channel) which shows and interprets satellite photos of Earth.

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Western Hemisphere Weather

These images come from a series of weather satellites, which orbit the Earth and take digital pictures of the planet on a constant basis. The pictures are transmitted to Earth, and then made available, through computer networks, to governments, businesses, meteorologists and the general public. In the US, the satellites are designed, launched and maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The first weather satellite, TIROS I was launched in 1960. Since then, a series of satellites launched by the US and other countries, have provided increasingly better detail and more frequent images. The most recent, GOES 8, provides images every half-hour, with remarkable detail, and the ability to detect not only visible clouds but also water vapor . 

The GOES satellites are in a geostationary orbit, which means that they orbit the Earth at exactly the same rate as the Earth rotates, thus effectively staying above the same location on Earth. These geostationary orbits are about 22,300 miles above the Earth (much higher than a space shuttle orbit!), so that their images show nearly half the Earth, and the overlapping images are combined by advanced computer graphics.

These weather satellites have become increasingly important, not just for monitoring the Earth's weather, but also for preparing forecasts. These forecasts are essential not only for daily life, but also for public safety during weather emergencies such as hurricanes.

Teachers' Guide                            Page 8.5