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Satnews Daily
August 16th, 2017

NOAA - Satellite Tracking of the Upcoming Solar Eclipse


While most of America will be looking up on August 21 during the solar eclipse, America’s newest weather satellite, NOAA's GOES-16, will be looking down on the Earth, tracking the moon’s shadow across the United States with its highly sophisticated Advanced Baseline Imager.


Rendition of NOAA's GOES-16 weather satellite. Image courtesy of NOAA.

NOAA plans to issue images of the eclipse from GOES-16 and the agency's additional polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites as they become available. The satellite’s imager will provide three, high-resolution, color animations and still pictures of the eclipse. And flying on NOAA's DSCOVR satellite, is in orbit one million miles away between the Earth and sun, and past the moon, is the NASA EPIC camera. The high-powered EPIC will also take images and a movie of the moon’s shadow on Earth that likely will be available within one or two days following the eclipse.

Here's a look at the expected times of the GOES-16 and DSCOVR visuals:

  • GOES-16 animations and still images
    First Animation: 1:30 p.m. ET
    Shows the eclipse shadow emerging from the Pacific Ocean

 

  • Second animation: 3:30 p.m. ET
    Shows the full-run of the eclipse shadow, moving across the continental U.S., after the shadow has left the coast of South Carolina

 

  • Third animation: between 4:30 - 5 p.m. ET
    • Shows the entire loop of the eclipse shadow passing across the whole Earth

 


EPIC image is courtesy of NASA/NOAA.

All of the GOES-16 eclipse animations and still images will be available at this direct link...

Additionally, the visible color images and movie from NASA’s EPIC camera aboard NOAA's DSCOVR satellite will be available at this direct link...