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5 August 2015
EPIC Image of the Earth and Moon
In case you have not seen it… this has to be one of the most epic images of the Earth and Moon ever. It almost looks photo-shopped but it’s not. From the Deep Space Climate Observatory at the Lagrange 1 point a million miles from Earth. Below is an animated image:
18 March 2013
NASA’s Science Visualization Wall- Cool Is An Understatement.
I spent the weekend at the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University in Fairfax,Va. We started the weekend with a visit to the NASA’s science visualization wall. Scientific centers everywhere are building similar displays to see science data in a whole new way, and it’s without doubt leading to new discoveries about how the planet works. I saw some amazing images on this wall, and thanks to my Canon 5D I grabbed a few …
24 February 2013
Earth Viewer App Show Where Your Town Was 60 Million Years Ago
I ran across a great science app this week. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute has an app in the online Apple store showing the geological periods, along with where the continents were during each of them. It also indicates the percentages of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at that time as well. Additional graphs show the Earth’s temperature and CO2 levels from the beginning of the Cambrian to …
14 November 2012
Atmospheric Aerosols Make Cool Wall Paper
Climate models have come a long way over the last 20 years and the image above is a good example of it. Here is what NASA says about it: Portrait of Global Aerosols High-resolution global atmospheric modeling run on the Discover supercomputer at the NASA Center for Climate Simulation at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., provides a unique tool to study the role of weather in Earth’s climate system. …
26 September 2012
Suomi Satellite Sees Storms and Street Lights
The new Suomi satellite, with its night-time visible sensor and 1km resolution IR imagery, continues to send back some amazing views. This mesoscale convective system (MCS) developed late Monday night. Once we get something like this in geostationary orbit it will revolutionize satellite meteorology. Actually it already is. A real problem with night-time IR images is that many times you cannot tell the difference between cold ground and cloud. Fog is especially difficult …
30 August 2012
Hurricane Isaac By Moonlight
Can you spot Richmond, Okla. City, Tulsa, and Springfield, Missouri?? That should be a good start for you. As far as know, this is the first time a hurricane has been imaged by natural light at night. Certainly the first over the U.S. A nice image of the power of Mother Nature against the backdrop of mankind’s domination of the Earth’s surface. More on Suomi and the VIRRS here.
29 July 2012
Great Summer Reading- Two Brilliant Books
A couple of books to recommend that I have enjoyed immensely. One has nothing to do with science, other than the fact that Abraham Lincoln’s opinion of weather forecasters was ( and deservedly so at the time) rather low. Science First: The Magic of Reality Richard Dawkins has produced a fantastically illustrated book for young adults called the Magic of Reality. I say young adults, but I certainly enjoyed it. It’s a must read for …
12 July 2012
X-Class Solar Flare Today Was Facing Earth. Major Geomagnetic Storm Possible
Late word from NASA this evening is that the X 1.4 solar flare today IS headed in our direction, and may produce a moderate to severe geomagnetic storm on Saturday when it arrives. It may produce auroras Saturday down to a latitude of 35 degrees! There is also a significant risk for geostationary satellites and cross polar flights will likely be impacted as well due to HF radio blackouts and some minor radiation risk. The flare produced a notable CME that will take …
19 May 2012
Tropical Storm Alberto! In May??
(Update: Tropical Storm Alberto has now formed per NHC) Just looking at this image, it seems a tropical depression may be forming off the South Carolina coast. There is a circulation but that does not mean it is a “warm core” system. It is not that rare for a tropical system to form from a cold core surface low over the ocean, but to get one in the Atlantic in mid May is VERY …
16 May 2012
April 2012 Makes 427th Consecutive Months With Ocean Temps. Warmer Than 20th Century Average
Ocean temperatures in April were the second warmest on record and this makes April the 427th month in a row with ocean temperatures above the average of the 20th century. Here are the exact numbers from NOAA: The U.S. Climate Extremes Index was at a record high for the January April period as well: and NOAA says for the U.S.: The contiguous United States mean temperature during …
Dan Satterfield has worked as an on air meteorologist for 32 years in Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama. Forecasting weather is Dan's job, but all of Earth Science is his passion. This journal is where Dan writes about things he has too little time for on air. Dan blogs about peer-reviewed Earth science for Junior High level audiences and up.