{"id":13,"date":"2025-11-04T11:26:53","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T17:26:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/?page_id=13"},"modified":"2026-04-30T11:42:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T16:42:32","slug":"goes-vsf","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/goes-vsf\/","title":{"rendered":"GOES Virtual Science Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group cimss-two-cols-with-sidebar\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p>Middle, High School, and first- or second-year college students nationwide can submit individual projects or in small teams with classmates. The main requirement is using satellite imagery and data from GOES-East or GOES-West to investigate weather and natural hazards. Students from the winning teams will receive $25 gift cards, plus valuable research experience for college or future careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Please note: The GOES Virtual Science Fair (VSF) is not being offered for the 2025-2026 school year. <\/strong>Please consider participating in the <a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/jpss-vsf\/\">JPSS Virtual Science Fair<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Enter the Virtual Science Fair<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Watch the <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/S4IV9SJTfzc\">Weather Satellites video<\/a> on YouTube (7 minutes).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Complete the <a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/goes-vsf\/goes-series-learning-module\/\">GOES-R Series Satellites Learning Module<\/a> (about 1 hour).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Choose a research topic.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You are free to come up with your own idea, but some options include:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Forecast\/hypothesize the near-term weather (start by checking the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.weather.gov\/\">National Weather Service<\/a>&nbsp;forecast) then analyze what evolves in real-time using multiple ABI bands (two or more).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pick a case from the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/\">CIMSS Satellite Blog&nbsp;<\/a>that includes multiple ABI bands (2 or more), then describe the case in your own words using the images in the blog.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make a hypothesis about a natural hazard then analyze it with multiple ABI bands (two or more).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Create a poster.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You may use <a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2025\/11\/VSF_PPT_Template-1.pptx\">our poster template<\/a> or create your own.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Examples can be found in the past projects accessible from the right sidebar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Every poster must include at least two examples of GOES imagery used in your project.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Posters must be uploaded as either PowerPoint (.ppt\/.pptx) or PDF files.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Check your work using the <a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2025\/11\/GOESScoreCard2022.pdf\">scoring rubric<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Submit your project.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Although optional, we appreciate having a high-resolution image of the student(s) included.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For high schoolers and college students only, please also provide a link to an uploaded video (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) or share a narrated PowerPoint in a Google folder. In the video, students should describe the poster in about 3-5 minutes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com\/jfe\/form\/SV_739TBUtpsOI2F3E\">Submit your high school or college project<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/uwmadison.co1.qualtrics.com\/jfe\/form\/SV_739TBUtpsOI2F3E\">Submit your middle school project<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">I am a teacher. Can I assign this project to my class?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While we encourage teachers to assign this activity to their entire classroom, please conduct an in-house review and only submit the top three projects to the science fair. This keeps our number of submissions manageable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">I am a student. Do I need to have this assigned to me in class to submit a project?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>No, feel free to enter whether this is an assignment or not! Any adult can serve as a coach \u2013 if you know a meteorologist, consider asking them to help with your project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do I need to submit a team project, or can I work on my own?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You may work alone or in a group!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What areas can we investigate?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Any area that GOES-16 (or -17) can observe, which covers North and South America and the surrounding oceans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What files should we access for ABI data?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While the &#8220;radiance&#8221; files could be used, the most useful might be the Cloud and Moisture imagery (CMI) file that contain reflectance factor values for the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) bands 1-6 and brightness temperature for ABI bands 7-16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How does one decode a ABI CMI file name?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Example file name: OR_ABI-L2-CMIPC-M3C02_G16_s20182831802203_e20182831804576_c20182831805093.nc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;OR&#8221; means the data was produced operationally. &#8220;ABI-L2&#8221; means the data was made using ABI sensor on Level 2 (derived product). &#8220;CMIP&#8221; stands for &#8220;cloud and moisture imagery product&#8221;, and the &#8220;C&#8221; stands for &#8220;CONUS (Contiguous United States) sector&#8221;. &#8220;M3&#8221; is for Scan Mode 3, and &#8220;C02&#8221; is for Channel 2. &#8220;G16&#8221; means GOES-16 (the satellite name). The &#8220;s&#8221; is for the image start date, and the numbers following are the four-digit year (2018), the three-digit ordinal date of the year (283),  and the time (hours, minutes, and seconds) in Universal Time (18:02.203). The &#8220;e&#8221; is for the scan end time, followed by the same time and date metadata, and the &#8220;c&#8221; is for central time. &#8220;.nc&#8221; marks the file as a netCDF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What&#8217;s an ordinal date?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The sequential day of the year, for example, Oct 12, 2018 is 285.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where can I find out more about the ABI and its band uses? What&#8217;s each ABI scan mode?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Information about this can be found on the <a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/goes\/goesdata.html#info\">CIMSS data master list<\/a>, as well as in this journal article, &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/nwafiles.nwas.org\/jom\/articles\/2018\/2018-JOM4\/2018-JOM4.pdf\">Applications of the 16 Spectral Bands on the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI)<\/a>&#8220;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What spectral bands are on the ABI?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/nwafiles.nwas.org\/jom\/articles\/2018\/2018-JOM4-figs\/Table1.png\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"http:\/\/nwafiles.nwas.org\/jom\/articles\/2018\/2018-JOM4-figs\/Table1.png\">ABI band table<\/a> shows each of the bands!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are the 3 domains scanned by the ABI?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Full disk, Contiguous US (CONUS) and smaller meso-scale sectors. See examples in this <a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2025\/11\/ABI-Scan.gif\">ABI scanning animation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group side-col\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group side-bar\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Project Resources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/goes\/GOESR_QuickGuides.html\">ABI Bands Quick Information Guides<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2025\/11\/VSF_PPT_Template-1.pptx\">PowerPoint Poster Template<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/33\/2025\/11\/GOESScoreCard2022.pdf\">Science Fair Scoring Rubric<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Past Projects<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/goes-vsf\/2024-goes-virtual-science-fair-top-projects\/\">2024 Top Projects<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/goes-vsf\/2023-goes-virtual-science-fair-top-projects\/\">2023 Top Projects<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/goes-vsf\/2022-goes-virtual-science-fair-top-projects\/\">2022 Top Projects<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/goes-vsf\/goes-virtual-science-fair-2021-top-projects\/\">2021 Top Projects<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/goes-vsf\/2020-goes-virtual-science-fair-top-projects\/\">2020 Top Projects<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/goes-vsf\/2019-goes-virtual-science-fair-top-projects\/\">2019 Top Projects<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">GOES Imagery Sources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov\/GOES\/conus.php?sat=G16\">GOES-East (NOAA)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aos.wisc.edu\/weather\/wx_obs\/GOES16.html\">GOES-East (UW-Madison)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov\/GOES\/conus.php?sat=G17\">GOES-West (NOAA)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aos.wisc.edu\/weather\/wx_obs\/GOES17.html\">GOES-West (UW-Madison)<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/goes\/goesdata.html#data\">CIMSS Data List<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Middle, High School, and first- or second-year college students nationwide can submit individual projects or in small teams with classmates. The main requirement is using satellite imagery and data from GOES-East or GOES-West to investigate weather and natural hazards. Students from the winning teams will receive $25 gift cards, plus valuable research experience for college [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-13","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":392,"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13\/revisions\/392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/virtual-science-fairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}