Earth looks stunning in full view from the NOAA-21 satellite | Photographs
What can you spot from this latest global image of Earth? Cuba is surrounded by fresh turquoise seas, an agricultural fire in northern India, and of course the rest of our planet, as seen in the first overall image from NOAA’s newest Earth observation satellite, NOAA-21.
The The globe The images that make up the mosaic and a few close-ups were taken on December 5 and 6 by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument on board the satellite, which started November 10th from Vandenberg Space Base on November 10. (There was a spaceship before known as JPSS-2.) VIIRS collects images of both the visible and infrared light spectrum, allowing researchers to see the details of the Earth’s surface.
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VIIRS provides scientists with important information about the Earth’s oceans, atmosphere and land. It can detect differences in the color of the oceans and tell scientists where phytoplankton is or whether dangerous algal blooms have formed on human-populated coasts. The instrument’s atmospheric data can help scientists predict and track storm movements.
NOAA-21 is the second operational satellite in a series called the Joint Polar Satellite System, which provides global, Pole-to-Pole imagery. The last JPSS satellitewhich is now known as NOAA-20, was launched in November 2017. Prior to that, in 2011, the NOAA-NASA Finland National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (Suomi-NPP) was launched and delivered the plan to JPSS.
The satellites orbit from Pole to Pole and observe the entire surface of the Earth twice a day. It cruises 512 miles (824 kilometers) above Earth at a speed of 17,000 mph (27,360 km/h) and crosses the equator 14 times a day. And they all have a VIIRS player.
The third JPSS satellite is is to be launched (opens in a new tab) in 2027 and the fourth not yet (opens in a new tab) is the publication date.
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