The Western World is in Real-Time on NOAA's GOES Imagery Website

June 22, 2012

This week, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched a new web page of dynamic images and videos from the GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) satellites. The new NOAA Visualization Laboratory web page provides GOES images in real-time and video loops. The site shows GOES-East Northern Hemisphere satellite images, which are taken every 30 minutes. The GOES-West Western Hemisphere images are taken every three hours.

"The site provides lively images for everyone from the lay person to the news maker," says Dan Pisut, NOAA Visualization Laboratory.

The Northern imagery along with the animations are the last three days of satellite observations. The Western Hemisphere image is generated once a day. Images are available in streaming videos and can be downloaded in an MP4 format for broadcast quality footage.

The GOES-15 is NOAA's newest geostationary satellite and replaced GOES-11 as the operational GOES-West satellite on December 6, 2011. GOES-13 (East) and GOES-15 provide continuous coverage of the United States and the Western Hemisphere.

NOAA is planning the next generation of geostationary satellites, called GOES-R, with the first poised to launch in 2015. GOES-R is expected to more than double the clarity of today's GOES imagery and provides more atmospheric observations than current capabilities with more frequent images. In addition, data from GOES-R instruments will be used to create many different products for NOAA meteorologists and others who monitor the atmosphere, land, ocean, and the sun.

The GOES-15, the newest geostationary satellite, took the place of GOES-11 and is now NOAA's GOES West spacecraft. The spacecraft has a fixed orbit over the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and the West Coast, and provides more data with better resolution and image stability than GOES-11. GOES-15 joins NOAA's other operational geostationary satellite, GOES-13, which serves as the GOES East spacecraft.

The GOES are not only used for weather applications, but also track space weather, oceanographic changes, forest fires and other hazards and provide scientific data collection and information for search and rescue operations. The satellites provide constant coverage of the western hemisphere by taking photographic images every 15 minutes.

NOAA GOES are also used to identify activated emergency locator beacon signals to aid in Search and Rescue activities.

NOAA Visualization Laboratory Real-Time GOES: http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/GOESEast.php

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