May 3, 2024

New weather satellite offers mind-blowing views of our planet

Image credits: EUMESTAT.

” The level of information MTG-I1s image reveals, unachievable over Europe and Africa from a geostationary orbit previously, will offer us a greater understanding of our world and the weather condition systems that shape it,” Simonetta Cheli, the Director of Earth Observation programs at the European Space Agency (ESA), stated in a media declaration.

The large picture of Earth, caught on March 18, 2023, shows the majority of Northern and Western Europe and Scandinavia blanketed in clouds, with clear skies over Italy and the Western Balkans. A lot of the information in this and the other images arent clearly noticeable, or not noticeable at all, with the instruments on second-generation satellites.

Europes brand-new weather satellite, the Meteosat Third Generation Imager (MTG-I1), delivered its first view of Earth, exposing climate condition over Europe, Africa and the Atlantic in impressive information. Launched in December, the MTG-I1 is the first of a new generation of satellites that is anticipated to enhance weather forecasting.

An advancement for weather observation

This is expected to allow weather condition forecasters to keep track of the advancement of serious weather condition more accurately.

MTG-I1 is the very first of 6 satellites that form the full MTG system, which will provide data for early and short-term detection of potential severe weather events. When totally functional, the mission will consist of two MTG-I satellites and one MTG Sounding (MTG-S) satellite. Severe weather events are anticipated to end up being more severe and intense in the years to come.

Given that 1977, Europe has had its own meteorological spacecraft stationed above the planet. Meteosat-12 is the third version in this series and is currently positioned in a fixed place, keeping track of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa constantly. It can take one photo every 10 minutes– five minutes faster than the previous version.

Image credits: EUMESTAT.

MTG-I1 is the very first of 6 satellites that form the complete MTG system, which will supply data for short-term and early detection of potential extreme weather condition occasions. When completely functional, the objective will comprise two MTG-I satellites and one MTG Sounding (MTG-S) satellite. The latter will bring an UV spectrometer and an infrared sounder.

“That extra information from the greater resolution images, combined with the fact that images will be produced more regularly, implies forecasters will have the ability to more accurately and rapidly identify and anticipate severe weather condition occasions,” Phil Evans, Director General at Eumetsat, the European firm for keeping an eye on weather, said in a declaration.

Details such as the snow cover of the Alps, sediment in the water along the coast of Italy, and cloud vortices over the Canary Islands show up in the images. Theres also a greater level of information of cloud structures at high altitudes. This is expected to allow weather forecasters to keep track of the advancement of extreme weather more precisely.

The satellite can also catch images in 16 wavelengths of light, 4 more than the 2nd generation. Thanks to the extra bands of light, it can produce real color images, which carefully resemble what the human eye may view if viewing Earth from the exact same area. The impressive very first batch of photos it has just sent.

The overall expense of the objective is anticipated to be about 4.3 billion. Extreme weather condition events are anticipated to become more extreme and severe in the years to come.