GOES Satellite Imagery

Tim Vasquez

Tuesday, March 22, 2022 at 09:11 AM ET

Verified

There's been a lot of progress in 60-plus years. (NASA)

Key Takeaways:

GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite) is a NOAA program providing continuous, high-resolution weather data from a fixed position 22,236 miles above Earth, with the current GOES-R series offering rapid imaging, advanced sensors, and significantly improved resolution.
Satellite imagery is broadly categorized into Visible (daytime only, intuitive view of clouds, haze, storms, and fog) and Infrared (24/7, temperature-based, crucial for night observations), each with distinct interpretation principles.
Modern GOES-R satellites offer advanced capabilities beneficial for pilots, including multispectral products like the Nighttime Microphysics product for detecting and differentiating fog/low stratus at night, and a Geostationary Lightning Mapper.

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You’ve probably heard someone tossing around the term “GOES satellite” at one time or another. This refers to a NOAA satellite program that has been in operation for 47 years. GOES stands for Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, in other words, a weather satellite that’s parked 22,236 miles (35,786 km) above the Earth’s surface, directly above the equator. At this altitude the satellite orbital speed perfectly matches the Earth’s rotation, allowing it to remain permanently above a fixed location on the planet. That gives it a constant view of the United States.

A Quick History