Credit: NOAA
Credit: NOAA
These satellite images shows hurricane Irene as it slammed into the U.S. East Coast.
Taken by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) GOES spacecraft, Irene’s destructive nature is causing structural damage as well as massive power outages.
Estimates from major utilities serving the Atlantic seaboard from North Carolina to New England puts the number at over two million people-plus now without electrical power.
GOES stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite.
GOES orbit 35,800 km (22,300 miles) above the Earth’s equator at speeds equal to Earth’s rotation, which maintain their positions relative to Earth.
NOAA operates two GOES satellites simultaneously – GOES-East and GOES-West. The satellites provide constant coverage of the western hemisphere by taking photographic images every 15 minutes.
Satellites are critical for monitoring severe weather, snow storms, tropical storms and hurricanes, such as Irene.
Also, go to this movie to review Irene’s punch:
http://www.nnvl.noaa.gov/MediaDetail.php?MediaID=807&MediaTypeID=2
By Leonard David