May 1, 2010 – Anything Geospatial

First Thermal Images of Earth via GOES-15

Originally uploaded by GISuser.com GIS and Social, Mobile Tech Images

GOES-15, the final spacecraft in the latest series of NOAA geostationary satellites, took its first infrared image of Earth on April 26. GOES spacecraft help NOAA forecasters track dangerous weather conditions and solar activity that can impact the satellite-based electronics and communications industry. Source: NOAA

Details… GOES-15 was launched March 4, 2010, from Cape Canaveral, Fla. After approximately five more months of tests, NASA will officially “hand over” the satellite to NOAA, which will place it in orbital storage mode. GOES-15 will be ready for activation if any of NOAA’s other four geostationary spacecraft experiences trouble. See More

How severe is the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? This map from NOAA puts things in perspective as it reveals the projected path of the oil spill as of May 1, 2010… indeed there’s a massive length of coastline and sensitive wildlife habitat areas in the path. A map showing projected path of oil spill in Gulf of Mexico as it approached the US Gulf coast (Source: NOAA)

projected path of Gulf of MExico oil spill — projected path of Gulf of Mexico oil spill

Imagery from NASA released this week also provides a good look at the status of the spill – NOAA used data from the Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument from the Terra satellite on April 26, 27 and 29 to capture the extent of the oil spill, which measured 600-square-miles. The MODIS instrument flies aboard both the Terra and Aqua satellites.