Every visual coming in from the space is often, a spectacle in itself. Some of these photos just make you truly mesmerized at their beauty.
The latest photos sent in by a revolutionary weather satellite orbiting our Earth are sure to make your jaw drop. The GOES-16 satellite of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) captured these high-resolution pictures which present the Earth in different wavelengths of light.
The collage includes a particularly stunning picture of the moon peeking out of our blue planet covered by thick clouds. Besides the appealing visual intrigue, the picture of the moon and Earth shining together also helps the scientists to calibrate the new spacecraft’s camera.
GOES-16, also known as GOES-R, orbits around 22,300 miles from the Earth and marks a significant technological advancement for NOAA. Stephen Volz, director of NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service, mentioned in a statement,
“One of our GOES-16 scientists compared this to seeing a newborn baby’s first pictures — it’s that exciting for us. These images come from the most sophisticated technology ever flown in space to predict severe weather on Earth.”
“The fantastically rich images provide us with our first glimpse of the impact GOES-16 will have on developing life-saving forecasts,” he added.
The satellite was sent to capture high-resolution images. It can also help in tracking lightning, volcanic ash, water vapor and other events to predict our weather more accurately. The satellite is capable of completing the cycle around the Earth five times faster than earlier GOES spacecraft and can send a full photo of the entire United States continent every five minutes. It also has a mode where NOAA mission managers can take images every 30 seconds.
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