David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64749
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
Baja from 1,000,000 miles in space!
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jul/21/earth-from-a-...
A Nasa camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (Dscovr) satellite – hanging in gravitational balance between the Earth and the sun – has returned
its first view of the entire sunlit side of the planet from one million miles away.
The satellite was launched in February on a Space X Falcon 9 rocket and recently reached its planned orbit at the first Lagrange point or L1, where
Nasa says it will be able to constantly take science-quality images of the entire sunlit face of the Earth.
Its first colour picture came from the spacecraft’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (Epic) and was made by combining three separate images to
create a photographic-quality image, Nasa said on Monday as it released the photograph.
The camera on the spacecraft – a project championed by Al Gore when he was vice-president – takes a series of 10 images using different light filters
from ultraviolet to near-infrared. The red, green and blue channel images were used in these Earth images, Nasa said, with the initial Earth images
showing the effects of sunlight scattered by air molecules and giving them a characteristic bluish tint. Further processing would remove the
atmospheric effects and reveal land features.
“This first Dscovr image of our planet demonstrates the unique and important benefits of Earth observation from space,” said Nasa administrator
Charlie Bolden, a former astronaut. “Dscovr’s observations of Earth, as well as its measurements and early warnings of space weather events caused by
the sun, will help every person to monitor the ever-changing Earth and to understand how our planet fits into its neighbourhood in the solar system.”
Eventually, when the satellite goes into full operation, new images are expected daily, Nasa has said. “The high quality of the Epic images exceeded
all of our expectations in resolution,” said Adam Szabo, Dscovr project scientist at Nasa’s Goddard space flight centre in Greenbelt, Maryland. “The
images clearly show desert sand structures, river systems and complex cloud patterns. There will be a huge wealth of new data for scientists to
explore.”
Dscovr is a partnership between Nasa, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the US air force aimed primarily at maintaining
real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities used for “space weather alerts” – forecasts and tracking of activity such as solar flares and their
impact on Earth.
Data will be used to measure ozone and aerosol levels in Earth’s atmosphere, cloud height, vegetation properties and the ultraviolet reflectivity of
Earth, according to Nasa.
[Edited on 8-12-2015 by David K]
|
|
|
motoged
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6481
Registered: 7-31-2006
Location: Kamloops, BC
Member Is Offline
Mood: Gettin' Better
|
|
I see a storm coming my way....thanks for the heads-up, David 
Don't believe everything you think....
|
|
|
bajabuddha
Banned
Posts: 4024
Registered: 4-12-2013
Location: Baja New Mexico
Member Is Offline
Mood: Always cranky unless medicated
|
|
Seeings the moon's only 298,000 miles away, which is less than a third of a million, I'd say that's a mighty darn big earth!
AND THIS:
[_________________] is 6", right? 
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
|
|
|
Chupacabra
Nomad
Posts: 476
Registered: 7-11-2013
Location: La Jolla, CA
Member Is Offline
|
|
I was feeling pretty insignificant earlier today, but after viewing that photo I realize how important I am from a global perspective 
************************************
WTF
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64749
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
I added the link and text to go with that photo, just below the photo.
|
|
|
bajabuddha
Banned
Posts: 4024
Registered: 4-12-2013
Location: Baja New Mexico
Member Is Offline
Mood: Always cranky unless medicated
|
|
"....The camera on the spacecraft – a project championed by Al Gore when he was vice-president ..."
It's a phony.
I don't have a BUCKET LIST, but I do have a F***- IT LIST a mile long!
86 - 45*
|
|
|
Ateo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5898
Registered: 7-18-2011
Member Is Offline
|
|
Must have a zoom lens on? 1,000,000 miles away seems like Earth would appear a tad smaller. Hard to know..............Cool photo David. Thanks.
The Lagrange points are interesting...........we will be sending things out to these L Points in the future.............maybe fueling stations.
|
|
|
Udo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6343
Registered: 4-26-2008
Location: Black Hills, SD/Ensenada/San Felipe
Member Is Offline
Mood: TEQUILA!
|
|
WOW!
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
|
|
|
bacquito
Super Nomad
Posts: 1615
Registered: 3-6-2007
Member Is Offline
Mood: jubilado
|
|
Ditto!!
bacquito
|
|
|
Kgryfon
Senior Nomad
Posts: 624
Registered: 1-27-2009
Location: East Bay, CA
Member Is Offline
|
|
Beautiful!
|
|
|
Marc
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 2802
Registered: 5-15-2010
Location: San Francisco & Palm Springs
Member Is Offline
Mood: Waiting
|
|
Ditto X 2
|
|
|
mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 18122
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Hot n spicy
|
|
Quote: Originally posted by David K  |
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jul/21/earth-from-a-...
A Nasa camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (Dscovr) satellite – hanging in gravitational balance between the Earth and the sun – has returned
its first view of the entire sunlit side of the planet from one million miles away.
The satellite was launched in February on a Space X Falcon 9 rocket and recently reached its planned orbit at the first Lagrange point or L1, where
Nasa says it will be able to constantly take science-quality images of the entire sunlit face of the Earth.
Its first colour picture came from the spacecraft’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (Epic) and was made by combining three separate images to
create a photographic-quality image, Nasa said on Monday as it released the photograph.
The camera on the spacecraft – a project championed by Al Gore when he was vice-president – takes a series of 10 images using different light filters
from ultraviolet to near-infrared. The red, green and blue channel images were used in these Earth images, Nasa said, with the initial Earth images
showing the effects of sunlight scattered by air molecules and giving them a characteristic bluish tint. Further processing would remove the
atmospheric effects and reveal land features.
“This first Dscovr image of our planet demonstrates the unique and important benefits of Earth observation from space,” said Nasa administrator
Charlie Bolden, a former astronaut. “Dscovr’s observations of Earth, as well as its measurements and early warnings of space weather events caused by
the sun, will help every person to monitor the ever-changing Earth and to understand how our planet fits into its neighbourhood in the solar system.”
Eventually, when the satellite goes into full operation, new images are expected daily, Nasa has said. “The high quality of the Epic images exceeded
all of our expectations in resolution,” said Adam Szabo, Dscovr project scientist at Nasa’s Goddard space flight centre in Greenbelt, Maryland. “The
images clearly show desert sand structures, river systems and complex cloud patterns. There will be a huge wealth of new data for scientists to
explore.”
Dscovr is a partnership between Nasa, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the US air force aimed primarily at maintaining
real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities used for “space weather alerts” – forecasts and tracking of activity such as solar flares and their
impact on Earth.
Data will be used to measure ozone and aerosol levels in Earth’s atmosphere, cloud height, vegetation properties and the ultraviolet reflectivity of
Earth, according to Nasa.
[Edited on 8-12-2015 by David K] |
Davidk,
Government-funded science, nasa, climatology and al gore are pretty cool, eh?
|
|
|
David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64749
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
|
|
Yes, it's why I post things like that here! 
|
|
|
![[*]](images/xmbforum/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
