NOAA National Weather Service Im a weather forecaster - PDF document

Presentation on theme: "NOAA National Weather Service Im a weather forecaster"— Presentation transcript

NOAANationalWeatherServiceI'maweatherforecaster.Ineedtoseecloudsandstormsfromwayuphigh.Iwouldlikeacamerainspacetohelpmepredicttheweather.OK!Ihaveanideahowtodothat.Cool!Buthowwouldyougetacameraintospace?AndhowwouldyougetthepicturesbacktoEarth? ThisbookletwasadaptedfromtheoriginalworkbyEdKoenig ATIONALOCEANICANDATMO owDoYouMakeaWeatherSatellite? HowDoYouMakeaWeatherSatellite? Well,firstlet'stalkabouthowyougetanythingintospaceandkeepittherewithoutitfallingbacktoEarth.Let'simagineagolfball.Now,mydadisaprettygoodgolfer.Whenhehitstheballwithaclub,itgoesalongwayButifhehitsitfromthetopofahill,itgoesevenfarther.So,ifmydadhadsuper-humanstrength,doyouthinkhecouldhittheballallthewaytotheothersideoftheworld? ItwouldbecomeaIfmydadwereasstrongassomesuperhero,hecouldhittheballsohardandmakeitgosofastabout17,000milesperhourthatitwould"fall"allthewayaroundEarth!IftheballcouldbethrownwayupabovemostofEarth'satmosphere,therewouldbeverylittleairtoslowitdown.Soitcouldkeepgoingaroundandaroundforalongtime. Ifitwouldtakethestrengthofasuperherotothrowagolfballaroundtheworld,imaginewhatitwouldtaketothrowatruckaroundtheworld!Justattachthetrucktoarocketandblastoff.Whentherocketgetsabovetheatmosphere,haveitturnandthrowthetruck.Thetruckwillbeinorbit.Atruck!?Couldyouevendothat?Butwhywouldyouputatruckinorbit?Soitcancarryallthethingsneededtomakeaworkingweathersatellite. ICE ICE CE Likewhat?Howwillthatwork?Who,me?OK,I'lltry.Oneofthethingswewillneedisaninstrumenttotellwhetherit'shotorcolddownbelow.Good!Inyourkitchen,placeatrayoficenearabowlofhottapwater.Moveyourhandovertheice,thenoverthehotwater.Doyoufeelthedifference?I'mgladyouasked!Wouldyouliketotrybeingasatellitetemperaturesensor? Hereisarealweathersatellite.ThisoneiscalledaPOES.Itorbits14timesaday,about500milesaboveEarth.ItpassesnearlyovertheNorthandSouthPoles.WithEarthrotatingbelow,eachPOESpassesoveryourareatwiceeachday.Heatsensorsmeasurethetemperaturesoftheoceans,theland,theair,andtheclouds.NASAbuildsandlaunchesthesesatellites.NOAApaysforandoperatesthem.NOAArunstheNationalWeatherService,whichusesinformationfromPOEStopredictweatherdaysandweeksahead.Thisinformationalsohelpsscientistsstudyhowtheclimateischangingoverlongerperiods.Ithelpswithstudiesofvegetation,pollution,seaice,ozone,andElNiñoconditions.SolarArraySearch&rescueantenna Hereisadifferenttypeofweathersatellite.ItiscalledaGOES.Itorbits22,300milesaboveEarth'sequator.Thisisjusttherightdistanceforasatellitetomakeoneorbitevery24hours.Canyouguesswhatthatmeans?Right!BecauseEarthrotatesonitsaxisonceevery24hours,theGOESwillseemtobehoveringoverthesamespotonEarthallthetime.TheGOEScanthustakepicturescontinuouslyofstormsformingoverlandandocean.IttakesthepicturesofcloudsandhurricanesyouseeonTV!Nowtheweatherforecasterhastheinformationsheneedstodoherjob.SolarArrayGladIcouldhelp!Hooray!THEEND NEWWORDS:SATELLITE:Abody(suchasaspacecraft)inorbitaroundanotherlargerbody(suchasEarth).Thesatellite'sspeed(momentum)keepsitfromfallingtoEarth,andEarth'sgravitykeepsthesatellitefromflyingoffintospace.ORBIT:ThepathofasatellitearoundEarth(oranotherbody)underabalanceofforces.SENSOR:Adevicethatdetectsenergy(suchasheatorlight)comingfromaNASA:NationalAeronauticsandSpaceAdministration,theU.S.governmentagencythatbuildstheGOESandPOESsatellites,amongmanyotherNOAA:NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration,theU.S.governmentagencyresponsiblefortheweatherservice,amongmanyotherthings.NATIONALWEATHERSERVICE:TheU.S.Governmentagency(partofNOAA)thatcollects,interprets,andsendsweatherinformationtous.POES:Polar-orbitingOperationalEnvironmentalSatellites,thelow-Earthorbitingsatellitesthatpassoverheadtwiceeachday.GOES:GeostationaryOperationalEnvironmentalSatellites,thehigh-Earthorbitingsatellitesthatstayoveroneplaceandtakepicturescontinuously.Formoreinformation:http://www.noaa.govhttp://www.nws.noaa.govJenniferNolanGOESMissionOutreach AeronauticsandOceanicand hathavewelearned? Whathavewelearned?Whathavewelearned?