The GOES-16 data posted on this page are preliminary, non-operational data and are undergoing on-orbit testing.
Jan 15, 2017
This composite color full-disk visible image is from 1:07 p.m. EDT on January 15, 2017 and was created using several of the 16 spectral channels available on the GOES-16 Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) instrument. The image shows North and South America and the surrounding oceans. GOES-16 observes Earth from an equatorial view approximately 22,300 miles high, creating full disk images like these, extending from the coast of West Africa, to Guam, and everything in between.
Jan 15, 2017
This image clearly shows the significant storm system that crossed North America that caused freezing and ice that resulted in dangerous conditions across the United States on January 15, 2017 resulting in loss of life. GOES-16 will offer 3x more spectral channels with 4x greater resolution, 5x faster than ever before.
Advanced Baseline Imager 16 Channels
Jan 15, 2017
This 16-panel image shows the continental United States in the two visible, four near-infrared and 10 infrared channels on ABI. These channels help forecasters distinguish between differences in the atmosphere like clouds, water vapor, smoke, ice and volcanic ash. GOES-16 has three-times more spectral channels than earlier generations of GOES satellites.
Jan 15, 2017
The Saharan Dust Layer can be discerned in the far right edge of this image of Earth. This dry air from the coast of Africa can have impacts on tropical cyclone intensity and formation. GOES-16’s ability to observe this phenomenon with its 16 spectral channels will enable forecasters to study related hurricane intensification as storms approach North America. These additional channels will also enable forecasters to differentiate between clouds from dust, or snow from clouds.
Jan 15, 2017
In May 2017, NOAA will announce the planned location for GOES-16. By November 2017, GOES-16 will be operational as either the GOES-East or GOES-West satellite. At its current check out location the satellite captured this image of the Caribbean and Florida. Here the satellite captures the shallows waters of the Caribbean.
Jan 15, 2017
NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite captures a view of the entire Western Hemisphere, including our neighbors here in Argentina, South America. Storms are evident in the northeast and mountain wave clouds can be seen in the southwest.
Jan 15, 2017
From its central location, GOES-16 captured this image of the west coast of the United States and the Baja Peninsula in Mexico. Once GOES-16 is determined to be operational as either GOES-East or GOES-West, GOES-S, the next spacecraft in the series, which is planned for launch in Spring 2018 will be moved into the other operational position as GOES-17.
Jan 15, 2017
On January 15, severe weather moved across the central United States before passing through the Northeast on the 16th and 17th where it resulted in wet and wintry weather for travelers across the region.
Jan 15, 2017
This area of Mexico and Central America is seen from GOES-16 with a largely cloud-free view. A fire and its associated smoke are evident over southern Mexico near the coast.
The Moon from Geostationary Orbit
Jan 15, 2017
GOES-16 captured this view of the moon as it looked across the surface of the Earth on January 15. Like earlier GOES satellites, GOES-16 will use the moon for calibration.
GOES-16 and GOES-13 Earth Photo Comparison from Jan 15, 2017
Jan 15, 2017
With five-times greater coverage, four-times the spatial resolution, and three-times the spectral channels than earlier generations of GOES-16's Advanced Baseline Imager can provide more detailed imagery and multi-task in ways that previous GOES imagers could not. For proof of that, consider the following image comparing full-disk images captured by two NOAA satellites -- GOES-16 and GOES-13 -- at the same time on the same day: 1:07 p.m. EST on January 15, 2017.
On the left is a color-composite full-disk image from NOAA's newest geostationary weather satellite GOES-16 (located at 89.5 degrees West longitude), which was created by combining data from the ABI's 16 spectral channels. By comparison, the imager aboard GOES-13 has just five spectral channels, and their data cannot be combined to produce color composites with this "true color" effect without the inclusion of additional data sets.
In addition to offering more channels, the ABI can provide a full disk image of the Earth every 15 minutes, one of the continental U.S. every five minutes, and has the ability to target regional areas where severe weather, hurricanes, wildfires, volcanic eruptions or other high-impact environmental phenomena are occurring as often as every 30 seconds.