Envirocast Media Update for Thursday, June 24, 2004

Envirocast^TM TV for Thursday June 24, 2004

Seasons in Minnesota as Seen From Space

The images below were collected from 438 miles in space by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA's Aqua satellite. They show seasons with different colors in Minnesota.

This animation shows the seasonal changes in Minnesota as seen by MODIS from space

Note: The animation above shows how you can use the images to your right in your weathercast to show the view of Minnesota changes color in different seasons. Save each of the still images on your right at the appropriate resolution for your system (either 720x486 or 640x480) and dissolve from one to another in sequence to achieve the above effect.

Zoom-in to Twin Cities:

The image below was captured with 250 meter resolution by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA's Aqua satellite.

Minneapolis and St. Paul straddles the Mississippi River in the center of the image, with the Minnesota River coming in through the south of town. The Minneapolis airport is located near the junction of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers, it appears as a bright patch in the center of this image. St. Paul is to the east (right) of Minneapolis, downstream of the river junction. To the right and up corner, the St. Croix River defines the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin.

View of Minneapolis and St. Paul as seen from space on October 6, 2003

With annotations		Limited annotations
720x486	640x480	720x486	640x480

FAQ about NASA's MODIS sensor and satellite AQUA:

MODIS (or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) is a key instrument aboard the Aqua (EOS PM) satellites.

Aqua, Latin for water, is a NASA Earth Science satellite mission collecting about the Earth's water cycle, including evaporation from the oceans, water vapor in the atmosphere, clouds, precipitation, soil moisture, sea ice, land ice, and snow cover on the land and ice. The Aqua spacecraft (formally known as EOS-PM) was successfully launched on May 4, 2002 at the Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in Lompoc, California. t is flying at an altitude of 705 km (438 miles) observing the Earth, and the life expectancy is 6 years. [Aqua's Orbit], [Animation of MODIS Observing the Earth]

NASA's Aqua Satellite
Aqua's orbit around the Earth is timed so that it passes from south to north over the equator in the afternoon, and thus it passes over us at the same local time every day, approximately 1:30 p.m.

Aqua MODIS is viewing the entire Earth's surface every 1 to 2 days, acquiring data in 36 spectral bands, or groups of wavelengths. These data will improve our understanding of global dynamics and processes occurring on the land, in the oceans, and in the lower atmosphere.

MODIS is playing a vital role in the development of validated, global, interactive Earth system models able to predict global change accurately enough to assist policy makers in making sound decisions concerning the protection of our environment.

There is a 6-minute QuickTime Movie from NASA describing MODIS and its mission: hi-resolution version (34 MB), faster-downloading version (3.5 MB)

NTSC TV Ready images 720x486
	Image NTSC 720x486 040624_03_tva.jpg Minnesota in spring / summer. Image taken on June 19, 2004. (with annotations)
	Image NTSC 720x486 040624_04_tva.jpg Same as above, with no annotations.
	Image NTSC 720x486 040624_005_tva.jpg Minnesota in fall. Image taken on October 6, 2003 (no annotations).
	Image NTSC 720x486 040624_06_tva.jpg Minnesota in winter. Image taken on February 13, 2004 (no annotations).
NTSC TV Ready images 640x480
	Image NTSC 640x480 040624_03_tvb.jpg Minnesota in spring / summer. Image taken on June 19, 2004. (with annotations)
	Image NTSC 640x480 040624_04_tvb.jpg Same as above, with no annotations.
	Image NTSC 640x480 040624_05_tvb.jpg Minnesota in fall. Image taken on October 6, 2003 (no annotations).
	Image NTSC 640x480 040624_06_tvb.jpg Minnesota in winter. Image taken on February 13, 2004 (no annotations).

Envirocast^TM TV is a service of StormCenter Communications, Inc. If you are having trouble downloading an image or if you have any questions, please call StormCenter Communications at 410-203-1316.

Envirocast^TM content is copyright StormCenter Communications, Inc. and is intended to be used solely for those StormCenter customers using the Envirocast software or receiving Envirocast via e-mail delivery directly from StormCenter Communications, Inc. If you are not the intended addressee/recipient, you are hereby notified that any use of, disclosure, copying, distribution, or reliance on the contents of this E-Mail information is strictly prohibited.

To save the above TV-ready images from this page, simply right-click on the thumbnail version and choose "Save Target As..." (Internet Explorer) or "Save Link Target As..." (Netscape) to save it to your computer's hard drive.