FIRST-THE EARTH! ~ EarthCare ACTIONS Volunteers ~ Comment option
View allAll Photos Tagged Earthcare
© Chris Jude Lupetti All Rights Reserved
Contact Chris Jude Lupetti to license this photo. info@chrislupetti.com
____________________________________
Don't forget to visit www.chrislupetti.com
You can now view my photographs on Facebook.
Aka Praia do Amado this place is seriously...well "beautiful" doesn't do justice! It's out of this planet! Very popular among surfers, in fact that day there were only a few german and spanish surfers around and of course us :)
These six long necked camelids are just a few from a herd of Alpacas in a field near Black Head in County Clare.
Taken during a recent trip to Doolin and Inisheer with some members of the
© Ben Heine || Facebook || Twitter || www.benheine.com
_______________________________________________
This is Queen's College in Oxford, England
_______________________________________________
For more information about my art: info@benheine.com
_______________________________________________
There Is a New Song
A poem by Peter S. Quinn
Each morning of our life,
There is a new song
And when dusk arrive,
These, remain and carry on;
Futile is our love story,
If enlighten is not there,
With tuneful morning glory
And basket of fruits to bear.
Freedom is no yesterday,
Nor is it in a book we read,
It is the doing of our say
And how we others treat;
Flower within your breast
Are beautiful of wisdom,
If they are for love that is least,
They truly shall forward bloom.
Our heaven is not in book,
Or a story that once was told,
Nor is it of rainbow look,
It is what we give and hold;
Let there be love in what we do
And kindness is what you give,
Then prosperity becomes you
And justice shall with you live.
--------------
The poem appeared on www.poemhunter.com/peter-s-quinn
ESA’s biggest and most complex Earth Explorer mission yet is currently being tested for space at ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre, the largest satellite test facility in Europe.
The Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer, EarthCARE, is equipped with two main instruments, a lidar plus radar – along with a smaller radiometer and cloud imager – which are powered in turn by this mammoth 11-m-long solar wing.
EarthCARE will fill a missing dimension in current climate change modelling: the role of clouds and aerosols in reflecting incoming solar radiation back out to space and trapping infrared radiation as it is emitted from Earth’s surface. Is the net effect a heating or cooling of Earth’s atmosphere?
Developed as a joint venture between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, the front of the van-sized EarthCARE satellite hosts its quartet of instruments with its solar wing deployed from its rear.
The satellite is set to undergo seven months of testing at the 3000 sq. m ESTEC Test Centre to check every aspect of its readiness for space, starting with a recent deployment test of its solar wing from stowed configuration.
Credits: ESA - SJM Photography
ESA’s EarthCARE satellite lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, US, on 29 May at 00:20 CEST (28 May, 15:20 local time).
The Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer satellite, or EarthCARE for short, carries a set of four instruments to make a range of different measurements that together will shed new light on the interplay between clouds, aerosols, incoming solar energy and outgoing radiation, which together regulate Earth’s climate. With the climate crisis increasingly affecting our planet, EarthCARE is poised to provide key data for climate research, to improve the accuracy of climate models and to support numerical weather prediction.
EarthCARE has been developed as a cooperation between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
San Francisco's City Hall. I love the way this building is lit at night. This photo was taken shortly after a storm had passed through the area.
More fun if you LARGE view.
________________
“Better to take refuge in the Lord than to put one’s trust in mortals.”
“I was hard pressed and falling, but the Lord came to my help.”
“I shall not die but live and declare the deeds oh the Lord.”
“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad..”
“Give thanks to the Lord, who is good, whose love endures forever.”
Psalm 118: 8, 13, 17, 24, and 29
_________________
August 17, 2008, 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
A reflection on today's Scripture:
Isaiah 56:1, 6-7
Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8
Romans 11:13-15, 29-32
Matthew 15:21-28
Our first reading today prophesies an "opening up" of Jewish worship to foreigners.
Their sacrifices will be accepted by the Lord as well as those of the Israelites themselves! "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples!" We are so accustomed to this idea that we may fail to realize how shocking it must have been to Isaiah's listeners.
In the second reading, Paul deals with this very question—how will his former colleagues accept his preaching the good news of Jesus to the Gentiles? He finally decides that it may be a good thing for them to be jealous enough of the Gentiles to want themselves to become Christian! This is Paul's fervent wish. In other words, he desires not only the conversion of the Gentiles, but just as much, he wishes the conversion of all people, including the Jewish community.
After hearing Paul's struggle with Israelites vs. Gentiles, we are somewhat shocked to hear Jesus reject the request of the Canaanite woman to heal her daughter. His reply to her seems harsh to our ears, since He tells her and the apostles (who beg Jesus to give in to her request, just to get rid of her whining!) that He was sent only to the lost children of Israel. Then turning to the woman, He quotes a familiar proverb that forbids "dogs" to be fed from the table by their masters. (What! Is this our gentle Jesus speaking?) But then, Jesus is so impressed with her faith and humility and her sense of humor when she persists in her appeal, that He heals her daughter. Within fifty years of the Resurrection, the Church was called "Catholic." As James Joyce once said of the Catholic Church, "Here comes everyone!"
What a challenge to us Catholics today who are sometimes too smug or self-righteous to share our faith with other Christians and those of other religions! To drag our feet is to risk going against Jesus' own prayer before He died on the Cross: "that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that the world may believe that you sent me" (John 18:21).
Let's open our arms wider!
- Msgr. Paul Whitmore | email: pwhitmore29@yahoo.com
___________________
www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/william_shakespeare....
William Shakespeare, English Dramatist Quotes
Born April 26, 1564; Died April 23, 1616
There's many a man has more hair than wit.
There is no darkness but ignorance.
The wheel is come full circle.
There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face.
There's not a note of mine that's worth the noting.
There's place and means for every man alive.
Time and the hour run through the roughest day.
'Tis best to weigh the enemy more mighty than he seems.
They say miracles are past.
Things done well and with a care, exempt themselves from fear.
They do not love that do not show their love.
EXPLORE # 294, # 304, # 335 on Sunday, August 17, 2008; # 484 on 08-18-2008
My dear friends,I`m back after a few days vacation in Europe!
I`ve been in Holland, Germany and France with a group of friends!
Unfortunately, I couldn`t contact any of my friends who lived there because the time was so short and we all have a very busy schedule trying to see as much as we could from those amazing countries!
I hope to be back in a near future with more time to meet my Flickr friends!
This is from the beautiful and unforgetable Amsterdam!
PS: I also want to thank all Flickr members who have recently visited me and sent me some kind emails! I hope to be aswering you soon!
white grass, against the deep blue Olympia sky on a other wise quite cloudy day. The sun came out just perfect for this photo op.... :-)
St Kilda is suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The little penguins return every sunset to their 1,400 bird colony in the rock crevices of the St Kilda breakwater. The colony is cared for by Earthcare St Kilda, a non-profit organization of ~180 volunteers, which provides nightly penguin guides to minimize disturbance & provide information to visitors.
The little penguin (Eudyptula minor) is the smallest species of penguin. In Australia, little penguins are often called fairy penguins; in New Zealand, they are aka little blue penguins, or kororā, their Māori name. The penguins grows to an average of 33 cm (13 in) in height & 43 cm (17 in) in length. They are found on the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand.
roamscapes.com/little-penguins-at-st-kilda/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_penguin
Canon PowerShot SX280 HS. 18.7mm, f/5, 1/10 sec, ISO 1600.
Thanks for viewing!
ESA’s EarthCARE satellite mission will soon be launched to answer some critical scientific questions related to the role that clouds and aerosols play in reflecting incident solar radiation back out to space and trapping infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface. As engineers are preparing EarthCARE for its life in orbit, the satellite is being put through its paces at ESA testing facilities in the Netherlands – the largest satellite test facility in Europe, equipped to simulate every aspect of the space environment.
One of the first tests involved the deployment of the satellite’s 11 metre solar wing from its folded stowed configuration, which allows it to fit in the rocket fairing, to its fully deployed configuration as it will be in orbit around Earth. The photograph shows the wing fully deployed.
Read full story: EarthCARE takes a big stretch
Credits: ESA–M. Cowan, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying ESA’s EarthCARE satellite being rolled out to the launch pad at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Once in orbit, this new satellite is set to revolutionise our understanding of how clouds and aerosols affect Earth’s climate.
Credits: SpaceX
ESA’s EarthCARE satellite encapsulated with the Falcon 9 rocket fairing being taken to the SpaceX launch facility at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Once in orbit, this new satellite is set to revolutionise our understanding of how clouds and aerosols affect Earth’s climate.
Credits: ESA
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying ESA’s EarthCARE satellite is poised patiently on the launch pad at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Once in orbit, this new satellite is set to revolutionise our understanding of how clouds and aerosols affect Earth’s climate.
With its suite of four cutting-edge instruments, EarthCARE is a groundbreaking advancement in satellite technology.
It promises to deliver unprecedented data – unravelling the complexities of both clouds and aerosols. With this, we can refine our atmospheric models and climate forecasts, giving us the tools to tackle the challenges of a changing climate with greater accuracy and precision.
Credits: SpaceX
If you see a truck pulling over to the side of the road with flashers on its just me taking another turtle out of the road..Dave keeps telling me I can't save them all.. But I say I can save one at a time... Have a great week.
Explore:. Highest position: 62 on Monday, August 6, 2007
'Guardian National' a Muira Class Yacht, with a two man crew, on it's way to St Helena Island in the South Star Race from Hout Bay, Cape Town. The yacht was owned and skippered by Tony Abbott. I was on a cabin cruiser with some colleagues and the photographer who captured the event. We accompanied the vessel for quite a few miles. Four different shots were selected by the sponsoring company (Guardian National Insurance Company Ltd.) who were also my employers. The Company was sold years later. Of the four different commissioned photographs; one was kept in our Regional office, one is in the possession of the retired Marine Branch Manager, one is displayed at the Royal Cape Yacht Club and this photograph was given to me. (Although mounted it got a bit spoilt as it was never framed.) I always liked this and scanned it for my photo stream. This race took place about 20 years ago :-)
Europe’s NIRSpec instrument will be launched in 2018 as part of the NASA–ESA James Webb Space Telescope. This week, in recognition of the UN International Year of Light, a NIRSpec model is among the cutting-edge optical instruments on display at ESA’s technical heart, coinciding with a gathering of optical experts.
The Innovative Technologies in Space Optics Workshop is being hosted at ESTEC in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, from where the NIRSpec programme is managed.
The Near InfraRed Spectrograph will study the characteristics of more than a hundred celestial objects at once – a major technical challenge to European industry.
Its focusing mirrors had to be lightweight while maintaining perfect optical performance even as their operating temperature drops to just 40ºC above absolute zero. The material of choice turned out to be cold-pressed silicon carbide, originally synthesised in an attempt to make artificial diamonds, and championed by ESA’s space optics experts.
The word ‘optics’ comes from the Greek for eye, but the workshop is discussing instruments that operate far beyond the limits of human vision, from the infrared wavelengths of the James Webb Space Telescope to the X-rays that will be focused by ESA’s Athena observatory.
Also on show were the latest CCD and APS light detectors, the use of the laser equivalent of radar to look back at Earth by ESA’s Aeolous and EarthCARE satellites, and lasers for high-bandwidth, long-distance communication for Europe’s EDRS ‘data highway’.
Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn
After being packed up in Germany, a long voyage to the US and then a month in storage, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has been carefully lifted out of its transport container so that the team at the launch site can start getting it ready for its big day in May.
The satellite is designed to advance our understanding of the role that clouds and aerosols play in reflecting incident solar radiation back out to space and trapping infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface. It’s set of four state-of-the-art instruments will work together to yield new insight into Earth’s radiation balance against the backdrop of the climate crisis.
Credits: ESA
ESA’s EarthCARE satellite was launched on 29 May 2024. It has already returned images from its cloud profiling radar and from its broadband radiometer. Now, it has also delivered the first images from its multispectral imager, showcasing various types of clouds and cloud temperatures worldwide. This instrument is set to add valuable context to the data from EarthCARE’s other instruments.
The multispectral imager comprises two cameras: one imaging in the visible, near-infrared and shortwave-infrared (VIS-NIR-SWIR) parts of the of the electromagnetic spectrum and one in the thermal-infrared (TIR). Images captured with these different spectral bands will allow scientists to differentiate between various cloud types, aerosols and Earth’s surface.
This image shows a thunderstorm north of Naples in Italy on 17 July. The true-colour part of the image on the left shows a very clear large single cloud. This storm cloud is likely to have been 11 km high. The right part of the image, which uses the instrument’s thermal-infrared band, shows that the top of this storm cloud was about –50°C, and that the land below was about 30°C. The thermal-infrared part also picks out the surrounding lower clouds, particularly over the Adriatic Sea, much better than the true-colour image.
Credits: ESA
ESA’s EarthCARE satellite being encapsulated with in the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket fairing, which protects the satellite during the first stages of launch.
ESA’s Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) carries a set of four instruments that work together to answer critical scientific questions related to the role that clouds and aerosols play in reflecting incident solar radiation back out to space and trapping infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface.
Although clouds and aerosols play an extremely important role in atmospheric heating and cooling, they remain a relative mystery – in fact, clouds are the least understood factor in our understanding of how the atmosphere drives the climate system.
EarthCARE is getting ready for lift-off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, with a target launch date of no earlier than 28 May 2024.
Credits: SpaceX
ESA’s EarthCARE satellite was launched on 29 May 2024. It has already returned images from its cloud profiling radar and from its broadband radiometer. Now, it has also delivered the first images from its multispectral imager, showcasing various types of clouds and cloud temperatures worldwide. This instrument is set to add valuable context to the data from EarthCARE’s other instruments.
The multispectral imager comprises two cameras: one imaging in the visible, near-infrared and shortwave-infrared (VIS-NIR-SWIR) parts of the of the electromagnetic spectrum and one in the thermal-infrared (TIR). Images captured with these different spectral bands will allow scientists to differentiate between various cloud types, aerosols and Earth’s surface.
This image from 17 July, shows the coastline along the south-western tip of Greenland. The ice- and snow-free coastal area reached temperatures of up to 10°C that day, which can be seen by the sharp contrast between the Greenland ice sheet and the cold ocean. The combination of the visible and infrared images nicely picks out the ice clouds and water clouds over the ice sheet, and the shallow cloud layer over the sea in the southwest corner.
Credits: ESA
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
ESA’s EarthCARE satellite lifted off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, US, on 29 May at 00:20 CEST (28 May, 15:20 local time).
Developed as a cooperation between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer satellite carries a set of four instruments to make a range of different measurements that together will shed new light on the role that clouds and aerosols play in regulating Earth’s climate. With the climate crisis increasingly affecting our planet, EarthCARE is poised to provide data for climate research, to improve the accuracy of climate models and to support numerical weather prediction.
EarthCARE is the most complex of ESA’s trailblazing Earth Explorer research missions – missions that deliver critical information to understand how our world functions and the impact that human activity is having on natural processes.
Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja
The History of Jaisalmer has a charm of its own. Like all other cities of Rajasthan, Jaisalmer too has its own glorious past to boast about. History of Jaisalmer draws heavily from the history of the Rajputana. The city is said to be founded by one Raja Rawal Jaisal, a Bhatti Rajput ruler, in approximately 1156 A D. Legends go by that he did it on the behest of a local hermit named Eesaal. The raja choose Trikut hill as the new site for his fort. This was because he thought that his previous abode at Luderwa (16 km from present Jaisalmer) was vulnerable towards possible enemy assault.
In medieval times, Jaisalmer continued to be on the focus of the masses because of its location. It falls in the way of one of the two routes, which connected India from Persia, Egypt, Africa and the west. The Bhatti Rajput rulers were still in line. They were the sole guardian of the city and thus mustered enough wealth through taxes levied on the passing caravans, of which there was no scarcity.
For many years Jaisalmer remained out of bound from the foreign rulers partly because of its location and partly because of its relief. In the mid Thirteenth century, Ala-ud-din Khilji, the Turk-Afghan ruler of Delhi laid the siege over the city. He was apparently upset with the Bhatti Rajput rulers because they stopped and looted one of his caravans containing royal coffer which was on its way to Sind. The siege lasted for around 9 long years and when the fall seemed eminent the Rajput womenfolk of the city committed Jauhar (self Immolation to avoid disgrace).
It is said that Duda, the son of Raja Jaisimha, fought vehemently in the battle but was overpowered after the fierce hand to hand combat. He died fighting. His descendants continued to rule the city. Though they had a cordial relation with the Mughal rulers in Delhi, they fought unsuccessfully with Emperor Humayun. Emperor Shah Jahan gave the right of governance to Sabala Simha, who had the royal patronage and had shown remarkable valor to win the Battle of Peshawar.
In the modern era, Jaisalmer was still a tough nut to crack and was the last among the Rajputana royals to sign the 'Instrument of Agreement' with the British establishment. Even that was achieved after long hours on the negotiation table and after much cajoling from the British establishment in India. In the year 1947, royals signed the agreement to remain in just independent India. Since then it has developed itself into a major tourist destination as well as a cultural hub of the western India.
Lake Gadisar:To collect precious rain water this tank was constructed by Rawal Gadsi Singh in the year 1367. At present Gadisagar ( Also known as Gadisar) tank gets water from Indira Gandhi Canal so it never dries. There are nice designed temples and shrines located by the side of the Gadi Sagar lake. At the center there is a big domed pavilion. Boating facility is available in this lake where charges vary from type of boat and based on duration of boating. Sikaras are also available to go around the lake.
With the initial images from each of the instruments aboard ESA’s EarthCARE satellite now in hand, it's time to reveal how these four advanced sensors work in synergy to measure how clouds and aerosols influence the heating and cooling of our atmosphere.
This image uses data from 18 September 2024 and shows how the satellite’s cloud profiling radar detects heavy rain and hail in thunderclouds over northern Italy and ice clouds over Sweden.
Credits: ESA
They have a passion for space and are some of the best engineers anywhere, conducting flight operations for exploration, technology and Earth missions worth billions of euros. Above all, ESA’s flight directors and spacecraft operations managers are team leaders, working to motivate people and manage complex systems on the cutting edge of exploration.
This photo, taken 2 November, shows 25 of the 40 spacecraft operations managers and flight directors assigned to missions this year. Those not present were away on duty travel, working off site or overseeing live operations or simulation training.
At the moment, ESA’s control centre in Darmstadt, Germany, is seeing a historically intense pace of flight operations. There are four training campaigns in progress for Galileo-11/12, LISA Pathfinder, Sentinel-3A and ExoMars to prepare teams for upcoming launches, while flight operations for 15 satellites plus three more controlled from ESA’s Redu Centre in Belgium continue.
The launch and operation of any ESA mission requires a multidisciplinary ‘team of teams’ working across the agency and supported by industry and academia. However, it is the spacecraft operations manager, the ubiquitous SOM, who is immediately responsible for day-to-day flight activities, planning and execution, and for solving the myriad problems that inevitably arise when complex satellites voyage into space.
An SOM is assigned to each current and upcoming ESA mission, and his/her first task is to build the Flight Control Team, comprising spacecraft engineers and technicians who specialise in each of the mission’s technical areas, including attitude and orbit control, power and thermal and onboard computer systems.
The Flight Control Teams are supported by experts working in areas such as flight dynamics, software and ground tracking stations.
Teams are multidisciplinary and multicultural, and provide oversight for their missions 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.
In the photo
Back row, from left: Marcus Kirsch (Xmm Newton), Hervé Côme (Galileo), Kim Nergaard (Meteron), David Evans (OPS-SAT), Bruno Sousa (Cluster), Juan Piñeiro (Aeolus), Richard Southworth (Integral), Isabel Rojo (Seosat), Daniel Mesples (Sentinel-5P), Paolo Ferri (Head of Mission Operations), Franco Marchese (Sentinel-2), Tiago Loureiro (ExoMars/Rover 2018), Ignacio Tanco (Solar Orbiter), Christoph Steiger (GOCE), Paul Steele (Meteron), Peter Schmitz (ExoMars/TGO 2016), Elia Maestroni (Cryosat).
Between the rows: Adam Williams (Venus Express), Sylvain Lodiot (Rosetta)
Front row: Micha Schmidt (Euclid), Frank Diekmann (Swarm), Andrea Accomazzo (Head of Solar & Planetary Missions, JUICE), Pier P Emanuelli (Head of EO Missions), José Morales (Sentinel-3), David Milligan (Gaia)
Absent: Andreas Rudolph (astronomy & fundamental physics division head), Benoit Demelenne (Probas), Danilo Liberatore (Galileo), Elsa Montagnon (BepiColombo), Etienne Tilmans (Probas), Ian Harrison (LISA Pathfinder), Ian Shurmer (Sentinel-1), Liviu Stefanov (Galileo), Michael Schmidt (Head of Studies & Special Projects), Michel Denis (Mars Express), Nic Mardle (EarthCARE, BioMass), Richard Lumb (Galileo), Sandro Matussi (Galileo), Steve Foley (MSG-4), Nigel Head (MSG-4)
More information
ESA’s operations managers: the ‘Right Stuff’
Ground segment: preparing for launch
Credit: ESA/J. Mai - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Space Needle at Seattle Center, Seattle WA
John Graham & Company (project architect Alfred H. Fast)
1961-1963
After being packed up in Germany, a long voyage to the US and then a month in storage, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has been carefully lifted out of its transport container so that the team at the launch site can start getting it ready for its big day in May.
The satellite is designed to advance our understanding of the role that clouds and aerosols play in reflecting incident solar radiation back out to space and trapping infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface. It’s set of four state-of-the-art instruments will work together to yield new insight into Earth’s radiation balance against the backdrop of the climate crisis.
Credits: ESA
ESA’s EarthCARE satellite is all packed up in its container ready for shipment to the launch site in the US. The photograph shows the container ready to depart from Airbus’ facilities in Friedrichshafen, Germany, where EarthCARE was tested. Once it arrives at the launch site in California, it will be put into storage for a few weeks until it is time to ready the satellite for liftoff, which is planned for May.
EarthCARE carries a suite of instruments to answer some critical scientific questions related to the role that clouds and aerosols play in reflecting incident solar radiation back out to space and trapping infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface. Although clouds play an extremely important role in atmospheric heating and cooling, they remain one of the biggest mysteries – in fact the least understood factor – in our understanding of how the atmosphere drives the climate system. EarthCARE's unique set of four instruments provides a holistic view of the interplay between clouds, aerosols and radiation.
Credits: Airbus
A wider view of Minoru Yamasaki's Education Building (built 1960) on the Wayne State University campus.
The EarthCARE propulsion team is getting ready to carry out the task of fuelling the satellite.
Since the hydrazine fuel is hazardous, only the propulsion team is allowed to be in the cleanroom for this part of the launch campaign. Also, the fuelling crew has to train in preparation for the fuelling activities, which involves putting on special suits and practicing the steps needed to fuel the satellite.
Credit: ESA
ESA’s EarthCARE satellite was launched on 29 May 2024. It has already returned images from its cloud profiling radar and from its broadband radiometer. Now, it has also delivered the first images from its multispectral imager, showcasing various types of clouds and cloud temperatures worldwide. This instrument is set to add valuable context to the data from EarthCARE’s other instruments.
The multispectral imager comprises two cameras: one imaging in the visible, near-infrared and shortwave-infrared (VIS-NIR-SWIR) parts of the of the electromagnetic spectrum and one in the thermal-infrared (TIR). Images captured with these different spectral bands will allow scientists to differentiate between various cloud types, aerosols and Earth’s surface.
This image shows orographic clouds – clouds formed by the shape of the land below – resulting from low westerly winds over the northern-most Kuril Islands on 17 July. These shallow clouds probably didn’t reach much higher than a few hundred meters. The thermal-infrared part of the image on the right shows little difference in temperature between the cloud and the sea surface.
Credits: ESA
ESA’s EarthCARE satellite being lowered in the Large Space Simulator in ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre in the Netherlands. The satellite spent almost 12 months in the Netherlands being tested to ensure that it will withstand the space environment once it is in orbit.
The mission will answer some critical scientific questions related to the role that clouds and aerosols play in reflecting incident solar radiation back out to space and trapping infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface.
Credits: ESA–SJM Photography
With the initial images from each of the instruments aboard ESA’s EarthCARE satellite now in hand, it's time to reveal how these four advanced sensors work in synergy to measure how clouds and aerosols influence the heating and cooling of our atmosphere.
The image here uses data from 18 September and shows how the satellite’s atmospheric lidar detects aerosols and ice particles in thin clouds.
Credits: ESA