Satellites can record and collect important data but that is not all they can do. The Suomi NPP satellite with its multiple instruments can also capture images high above the Earth that we admire and use to study space weather. Back in the evening of October 4th, a solar flare erupted and shot particles of energy out of the sun which some of this energy was hurled towards the Earth. This energy collides with the outer atmosphere and affects our magnetic field, and this effect causes the Aurora Borealis also known as the Northern Lights to be seen in the Northern areas in Canada, Russia Alaska and other areas to the north. The image shown below was taken by the high resolution VIIRS. There are other images of Auroras taken by the International Space station as well.
A recent online article on a Nasa website mentions that the solar energy particles that strike our atmosphere has an almost fluid like wave effect over the Earth.
The Weather Vane has tools to help monitor the solar storms that create the Auroras, some of these solar storms can affect satellite communication, certain radio transmissions and in extreme cases power grids in Canada.
Here finally is the image captured by the Suomi NPP on October 8th, 2012
You cannot help but to be concerned when a weather satellite malfunctions during Hurricane season.
As mentioned before the NOAA's GOES 13 Weather Satellite was not able to transmit its data and GOES 14 which is another satellite started to be used as a backup to help meteorologists to examine the entire eastern part of the U.S. and the Atlantic Ocean for potential storms.
On October 1st NOAA reported that they had the two satellites switch positions in orbit so that the GOES 14 has same viewable position that the GOES 13 had when it was working properly.
Here is a video showing the two satellites that were moved in orbit
An important weather satellite that helps us to watch the US east coast was down recently. With swift action the GOES 14 satellite took the place of the much needed GOES 13
Here is a great animated image of GOES 13 in action last year that followed Hurricane Irene.
Back in December I wrote about a large national project called a "Weather Ready Nation".
This is a project where several organizations have joined forces to inform public to being prepared for weather emergencies due to storms. Before this project the information we received was really only to alert of weather events and emergencies, however educating the public was difficult because there were too many fragmented national organizations that were trying to communicate public safety awareness. Internet technology had to be utilized effectively and messages from the scattered organizations were not being made mainstream into public media enough. Newspapers, Television networks and other media sources unfortunately depend on what readers and watchers want to see and they are controlled by its paid advertising campaigns. Public safety messages rarely are noticed because we have to admit some of the messages have been a bit boring or thought to be unnecessary because some areas of the country only see a strong storm every 50 years. Being a storm spotter I listen to co-workers and friends and they state the same thing. Meteorologists like to scare the public to think that a storm is coming and then it does not happen. 2011 was a busy year for weather events, records were broken in
snowfall, temperature extremes and drought. These changes to our
landscape has cost our county billions of dollars.
NOAA, The National Weather Service and several other national organizations started this project to help the public to be prepared and to do so they will need to use the internet and smartphone technology which has become very popular and a logical choice to communicate quickly and to many people at a time. Other communication tools are considered because if there is a power failure, some methods of communication would not be reliable. The video at the bottom mentions the need to improve forecasts, alerts and the need to improve the way we are educated by using new media. The Next Steps
Communication was only one part of the advances made by this project, here is a list of new or upgraded tools to keep our nation informed and to be prepared.
Suomi NPP Satellite - A relatively new advanced satellite to measure weather readings and study our climate - more here : NPP overview
Testing the system via Pilot Project in different cities -Six locations one of them in Silver Spring MD, to bring life saving information to make a life saving decision. from the source
Being prepared does not mean that you have to rely on others to make a decision, you can find the way to learn how to be prepared. "Be a Force of Nature" is the slogan from NOAA's National Weather service. This blog has made the commitment to being prepared and to pass this message along as well. You can find information here but even better go to the source; www.ready.gov
Here is a video from The National Weather Service about WRN and the National Dialog event they had last December.
