Wednesday, January 4, 2012

First Global Image from NPP

Another Image taken in November from Nasa's NPP Satellite.   As you can see the image is composed of thin strips as the spacecraft travels from south to north in its pole to pole trek.   Like a puzzle the image is put together to form a global map, you can see swirls of cloud formations that may have been storms at the time.
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2 comments:

  1. neroducJanuary 12, 2012 at 1:39 AM

    What is special about this new Satelite? Is it an improvement in technology over the ones that were being used?

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  2. Climate DriverJanuary 12, 2012 at 6:57 AM

    Yes, most other Satellites have an orbit that is somewhat parallel with the Equator. NPP has a vertical polar orbit, which means it can scan the surface with greater frequency at 14 times a day and can scan the entire surface of the Earth twice every 24 hrs! Having 5 instruments on board will allow it to be used for weather forecasting and long term climate study. One of the instruments has first time ability to measure fog density for early warnings and can take images with just moonlight. Another instrument can measure solar radiation absorbed in the Earth's atmosphere. Much more to come, I will do another write up to explain more..

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