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satellites
SATELLITES
Satellites are weather
instruments that orbit the earth and take pictures of the clouds from space.
The NWS satellite program is comprised of polar orbiting and geostationary satellites.
Polar orbiting satellites are roughly 530 miles above the Earth and can circle
the Earth twice a day. Geostationary satellites are roughly 23,000 miles above
the Earth; they remain fixed over a certain location and orbit at the Earth's
speed.
Currently, there are two
operational geostationary satellites over the United States. One is GOES 8,
the first in a new series of geostationary satellites. Launched in 1994, it
was positioned over 75W longitude to overlook the Atlantic Ocean and the East
Coast. The other is GOES 10, an older model. Launched in 1998?, it was positioned
over 135W longitude to overlook the eastern Pacific and the West Coast. The
latest geostationary satellite is GOES 11 which was launched last spring. It
is presently being run through a testing period and is expected to be moved
to 135W longitude.
GOES 10 will have the capability
to produce higher quality images with better resolution. Its technology is as
good if not better than the present GOES 8 satellite in the east. Forecasters
on the West Coast, including the Eureka weather office, are looking forward
to utilize this new tool. It will allow forecasters to examine a wide range
of weather phenomenon, from large storms brewing in the Pacific to localized
fog in the inland mountain valleys.
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www.weather.gov 
