The Earth on January 15, 2017, 10:07 AM PST as seen from the brand new GOES-16 satellite. For an even higher-resolution picture, click here.
Back in November, the United States launched the GOES-R (now called the GOES-16), a revolutionary new satellite that would replace one of the current GOES satellites and usher in the next era in geostationary satellite technology. After several months of testing, we finally have our first test images from the satellite, and they are absolutely incredible.
The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI). Credit: NOAA/NASA
These images are from the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI), a new and drastically improved version of the imager aboard the geostationary satellites it is replacing. The ABI has 4 times the resolution of the old imager, can take images 5 times more frequently, and has 16 spectral bands instead of 5. These additional spectral bands allow it to view the Earth in color, something that was not possible with the old GOES satellite. For much more on the ABI and the other instruments aboard the GOES-16 satellite, take a look at a blog I wrote back in November right after this multi-billion dollar machine was launched into orbit.
The ABI will help numerical weather prediction by giving us more information about the initial state of the atmosphere. 99% of all data fed into numerical weather models comes from satellites, and the ABI gives us far more data than our current imager.
The continental US in all 16 spectral bands that the ABI can view.
It is my hope that the images from the ABI will inspire people to conserve and protect the Pale Blue Dot we all live on. As important as accurate weather forecasting is for saving lives and property, nothing more important than preserving the Earth for future generations.
All satellite images in this blog were taken on January 15, 2017. The GOES-16 will remain in testing until November 2017, when it will take over operations for either the GOES-East or GOES-West satellites.
Two “full disk” images taken from GOES 16 and GOES 13 taken at 10:07 AM PST on 1/15/2017. I sincerely hope that seeing satellite images in color will inspire people to become better stewards of the Earth.Looking at the moon from 22,236 miles above the Earth’s equator. The GOES-16 uses the moon for calibration of its sensors.Hi-resolution image of Central America from the GOES-16. Note the algae bloom along the Yucatan Peninsula – features like this were not visible from earlier geostationary satellites.Cold and mainly clear conditions over the East Coast.A high-resolution image of the Contiguous U.S. A major ice storm is affecting the plains in this image.Relatively calm conditions over the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, with the shallow locations near the Bahamas, SW Cuba, and the Florida Keys clearly visible.A view of the Western U.S. You can still see significant amounts of snow on the ground over SW Washington and NW Oregon from the Jan 10-11 snowstorm that dropped 13 inches of snow over downtown Portland.South America. Note the mountain wave clouds in the far southern portion of the continent.Though it is hard to see from this angle, this image shows dust blowing off of the Sahara Desert. Many hurricanes start as “waves” of low pressure that travel westward off Africa and intensity into tropical systems over the warm ocean waters. The ABI will allow us to study the structure of these waves in more detail and help us forecast the development of tropical cyclones.
