I’VE GOT SOME BREAKING WEATHER NEWS TO BRING YOU --
Our future forecast is looking bright and clear!
That’s because the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has just launched a game-changing new weather satellite.
It’s called the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R, but, thankfully, it has a nickname: GOES-R.
It hitched a ride to space on one of NASA’s rockets a couple weeks ago – and, once it’s operational, it’ll monitor the weather here on earth in near real time – and its data will be more advanced than ever before, allowing meteorologists to zoom in to see greater detail so they catch severe weather sooner.
GOES-R is also tricked out with a Geostationary Lightning Mapper – that means it can see lightning from space – even if the lightning is hiding in clouds. Because lightning is usually a sign of a tornado, GOES-R will be able to predict tornados well before they strike.
But don’t think our friend GOES-R is just interested in Earth – this satellite will also be measuring space weather – that’s right, space has weather too – it mostly comes from the sun. Explosions on the sun’s surface can cause solar storms. They’re not usually a threat to us, but they’re definitely a threat to the satellites we rely on for communication. GOES-R monitors flare-ups on the sun to keep our satellites safe.
So look up and wave at our newest weather satellite – it’s up there keeping an eye on things, so we stay safe.
Instructional Links
Website Article: NASA, GOES-R Weather Satellite Ready For Launch
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goes-r-weather-satellite-ready-for-launch
Interactive Maps: NASA Earth Science Office, Interactive Global Geostationary Weather Satellite Images
https://weather.msfc.nasa.gov/GOES/
Video: PBSKids, SciGirls, Sky Girls
http://pbskids.org/video/?guid=47624166-a7d0-49e9-bfc3-57f9f4c734cd
Online Reference Book: Science Online, Weather Satellite
http://online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=19102&itemid=WE40&articleId=285064