Mapping the Earth: The View from the Top - a Polar Perspective

The View from the Top

Quick Cut & Paste:

There have been many images of the full disc of Earth from space—a view often referred to as “the Blue Marble”—but few have looked quite like this. Using natural-color images from the Visible/Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the recently launched Suomi-NPP satellite, a NASA scientist has compiled a new view showing the Arctic and high latitudes.

 

 

Source:

Ocean scientist Norman Kuring of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center pieced together this composite image of Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the entire Arctic. It was compiled from 15 satellite passes made by Suomi-NPP on May 26, 2012. The spacecraft circles the Earth from pole to pole at an altitude of 824 kilometers (512 miles), so it takes multiple passes to gather enough data to show an entire hemisphere without gaps in the view.

 

 

Instrument:  Suomi NPP - VIIRS

 VIIRS is a scanning radiometer that acquires data in 22 spectral bands, covering visible, near-infrared, and thermal infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. It was designed to extend and improve upon the measurements of land masses, oceans, ice, and the atmosphere made over the past two decades by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).

Full Credits:

Image & text taken from NASA's Earth Observatory site.

Image by Norman Kuring, NASA/GSFC/Suomi NPP. Caption by Michael Carlowicz. Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, NOAA and the Department of Defense.

                              

Further Reading:

1. NASA Suomi NPP Images and Data.
2. NASA Earth Observatory Earth, Behind the Scenes.
3. NASA Ocean Color Web.

 

Cool Geo-Pic: Hurricane Jimena by Visual & Radar

This Cool Geo-Pic comes again from NASA's Earth Observatory.

What I like most about the image is the "satellite to radar" comparison. I can happily report "all has been quiet" on the hurricane front for us Floridians.

Quick "Cut & Paste" Highlights:

" ... The center of Hurricane Jimena was coming ashore over Baja California on September 2, 2009, when these images were taken. The top image is from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite. The lower image was made from data collected by a radar instrument flying on the Cloudsat satellite. Together, the images show the structure of the Category 1 hurricane shortly after it make landfall. The storm brought both damaging wind and drought-breaking rain to the peninsula...."


Full Article - Click Here

download large image (32 KB, PNG) acquired September 2, 2009

References / Credits:

National Hurricane Center. (2009, September 4). Hurricane Jimena Advisory Archive. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service. Accessed September 4, 2009.

Stevenson, M. (2009, September 3). Jimena weakening after plowing into Mexico. Associated Press. Accessed September 4, 2009.

More images of this event in Natural Hazards

NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using CloudSat FirstLook data provided courtesy of the CloudSat team at Colorado State University.

Instrument:
CloudSat - CPR

Cool Geo-Pic: Stratosphere Influences Winter Weather

Another Cool Geo-Pic from NASA's Earth Obervatory, Stratosphere Influences Winter Weather

The video compares wind & weather inter-dependence at different elevations. A nice parallel of what "happens below begins from above".

Quick "Cut & Paste" Highlights:

" ...The lower pair of images represent the air mass, or polar vortex, that controls the wind pattern. Essentially, the winds are strongest at the edge of the polar vortex (where the pressure difference between the air masses is greatest). The area of red in the lower left image represents polar air that typically sits over the Arctic during January.

In general, strong winds circle the red regions, or areas of high vorticity, in a counterclockwise direction. These winds, moving at speeds well above 100 miles per hour, influence winds and weather patterns closer to Earth’s surface. Their influence means that weather in England and Western Europe typically comes from the west. Over England, western winds blow in ocean air warmed by the Atlantic Gulf Stream.... "

Full Article - Click Here

Full video - Click Here

References / Credits:

Full Credit to NASA's Earth Observatory. Data provided by the Goddard Modeling and Assimilation Office, courtesy of Paul Newman. Caption by Holli Riebeek with information provided by Paul Newman.

Polar Clouds

This image is entrancing - every time I look at I see more swirls in its murky mists. Its almost hypnotic appeal required a posting.

Quick excerpt from NASA's Earth Observatory:

Click here to view full image (292 kb)

In the summertime in the far northern or southern latitudes, high in the Earth’s atmosphere at the edge of space, thin, silvery clouds sometimes become visible just after sunset. These high clouds, occurring at altitudes of about 80 kilometers (50 miles), are called polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs). They are also called noctilucent (“night-shining”) clouds. In recent years, polar mesospheric clouds seem to be occurring more frequently and at lower latitudes than they have in the past, and studies are underway to determine whether their occurrence is related to global climate change.

Full Story at: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17737

Featured astronaut photograph STS117-E-6998 was acquired by the STS-117 crew on June 10, 2007, with a Kodak 760C digital camera using an 180 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and Image Science & Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. The image in this article has been enhanced to improve contrast. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.