An image of the Earth taken by the European satellite MSG-3, released on Aug. 7, 2012
Beautiful Earth Image Is Satellite's First
By OurAmazingPlanet Staff | LiveScience.com
Europe's latest weather satellite has captured its first
picture of the Earth, and it's a pretty one.
Launched on July 5 by the European Space
Agency, the MSG-3 is performing well and on its way to becoming active
after six months of development.
The satellite is spin-stabilized, meaning
it can always face Earth and take high-resolution images. This first photo was
taken with an instrument aboard the craft called the Spinning Enhanced Visible
and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI). MSG-3 is the third in a series of four satellites
introduced in 2002, while the last one, MSG-4, will be launched in 2015.
These satellites help provide better
weather coverage and short-range forecasts for Europe and Africa, especially in
the case of rapidly developing storms or fog. They can scan Earth's
atmosphere every 15 minutes in 12 different wavelengths, to track cloud development.
In addition to its weather-watching mission
and collection of climate records, MSG-3 has a radiation sensor to measures the
amount of solar and infrared energy that is reflected back into space, to better
understand climate processes.
The satellite also contains a "search and
rescue" transponder that will allow it to relay distress signals from emergency
beacons.
No comments:
Post a Comment