Earth

Thermal Satellite Imagery Shows Variations Across Northeastern United States

By Keith Cowing
Press Release
September 13, 2016
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Thermal Satellite Imagery Shows Variations Across Northeastern United States
Suomi NPP VIIRS Image
NOAA/NASA

Satellite instruments, like the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP satellite, can see the planet in a variety of different ways, each revealing unique features about the world in which we live.
The VIIRS instrument’s 22 channels measure different bands of the electromagnetic spectrum allowing for a vast array of imagery.

This image, captured on September 13, 2016, shows the difference in “skin temperature” — the heat reflected off the Earth’s surfaces — among mountains and valleys, urban heat islands and colder low-population areas, and ocean current variations (including the warm Gulf Stream curling off of the coast). The white and blue areas are the coldest, while yellow areas are the hottest.

Larger image

SpaceRef co-founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.