The US space agency, NASA, announced that its NOAA-2 satellite had taken recent photos of Earth as part of its mission.
The satellite will provide a new global perspective of Earth from space and vital information about our planet’s oceans, atmosphere and land. The image is just the beginning of a modern science mission that will monitor ocean environment and marine health, as well as capabilities to monitor fires, droughts and floods.
The satellite contains an instrument known as the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Array (VIIRS), which has begun collecting data. It measures sea surface temperature, which is an important metric for monitoring the formation of hurricanes, while observing the color of the sea. ocean helps monitor phytoplankton activity – an important component of hurricane formation An important indicator of ocean environment and marine health.
VIIRS on land can also detect and measure wildfires, droughts and floods, and its data can be used to track the thickness and movement of wildfire smoke, collecting images in both the visible and infrared light spectrums, allowing scientists to see the details of the land surface, as well as providing analysis of snowpack, ice, cloud, fog, aerosol, dust and global crop health.
