NOAA‘s GOES-16 and GOES-17 ABI observed the Firefly Aerospace’s maiden flight from Vandenberg Air Force base. GOES-16 ABI 16-panel captured the before and after the anomaly (explosion approximately 2.5 minutes after launch). Loop: (animated gif) (mp4).The parallax effect is very evident comparing GOES-17 and GOES-16 ABI views. Loop: (animated gif) (mp4). What is shown is a multi-spectral “rocket plume” RGB. More about... Read More

Lightning safety is important for aircraft, mariners, and many outdoor activities. CIMSS is working to evaluate a model that nowcasts lightning. This model was trained using GOES-16 ABI visible, near-infrared, and long-wave infrared channels, as well as GOES-16 Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) observations. It predicts the probability of lightning (IC... Read More

Early on June 10th, 2021 there was a solar eclipse for the northern portions of the globe. This was not a total, but annular (or “ring”) solar eclipse. Satellite instruments, such as NOAA’s ABI on GOES-16 (East) can monitor the shadow of the moon as it falls on the Earth.... Read More

NOAA’s GOES-5 VISSR view of a historical outbreak in the Carolina’s in 1984. March 28th and 29th, 1984 saw one of the most destructive tornado events in the history of North and South Carolina. Infrared Loop:The coldest clouds appear as darker shades of red. A regional scale IR loop. Visible Loop:A... Read More