New NASA Satellite To Give A Better Handle On Severe Storms, Wildfires

A rocket launches a new state of the art
weather satellite into space this past
Tuesday. Photo by Kim Shiflett/NASA

You're probably familiar with those satellite maps that show us the cloud patterns over the United States and the rest of the world.  

Those pictures are taken by what are known as "geostationary" satellites, whose orbit keeps them pretty much over the exact same spot above the Earth all the time. 

With increasing risks of severe storms and wildfires, NASA has launched a new satellite that will provide much better information on these disasters, as The Hill reports. 

The satellite, which will be named GOES-18, was successfully launched into space on Tuesday.

It will keep an eye on the western U.S. and Canada, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, Central America and a big chunk of the Pacific Ocean.

Once the satellite settled in,  it will park itself 22,300 miles above Earth, and it will have a whiz-bang arsenal of instruments to keep an eye on would-be dangers.

One piece is a lightning mapper, which is the first time one of these has been placed on a geostationary satellite. That will help meteorologists examine patterns in thunderstorms, especially when they're just starting to develop. 

This, in turn would help scientists determine if these nascent storms will unleash dangerous wind, hail or tornadoes, or just become garden variety thunderstorms. 

The satellite will also zero in on wildfires, especially in the western United States. The satellite will be able to closely monitor the intensity and path of these fires. The satellite will also be able to pick out weather factors that would change the trajectory of these fires.

The satellite will even be able to see space weather hazards heading our way. Solar flares can disrupt utilities on Earth, and early warnings can help operators buttress electrical and other systems against these disruptions.

This new satellite will replace an existing satellite called GOES-17 that watches western North America. The old satellite will be retained as a backup in case the new one has a problem or needs maintenance.