{"id":7741,"date":"2022-06-11T15:35:28","date_gmt":"2022-06-11T15:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/06\/11\/these-little-satellites-could-bring-big-advances-to-tropical-storm-forecasts\/"},"modified":"2022-06-11T15:35:28","modified_gmt":"2022-06-11T15:35:28","slug":"these-little-satellites-could-bring-big-advances-to-tropical-storm-forecasts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/06\/11\/these-little-satellites-could-bring-big-advances-to-tropical-storm-forecasts\/","title":{"rendered":"These little satellites could bring big advances to tropical storm forecasts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/6\/10\/23162485\/nasa-satellites-launch-advances-tropical-storm-hurricane-forecasts<\/a>
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NASA is gearing up to launch tiny satellites into space that will help forecasters keep a closer eye on tropical storms as they develop in a mission called TROPICS. Crucially, if the launches are successful, the satellites will mark a big advancement in our ability to watch rapidly intensifying storms.<\/p>\n

At the moment, NASA\u2019s weather satellites can only check in on a storm every four to six hours. \u201cSo we\u2019re missing a lot of what\u2019s happening in the storm,\u201d Bill Blackwell, principal investigator for the TROPICS mission and a researcher at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, said in NASA\u2019s announcement<\/a> yesterday.<\/p>\n

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Images taken from current weather satellites. Both the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) instrument on the NOAA-20 satellite (left) and TROPICS Pathfinder (right) passed over Typhoon Mindulle on September 26, 2021.<\/em><\/figcaption>Image: NASA\/NOAA<\/cite><\/p>\n

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The new set of six satellites NASA plans to launch should shrink that timeframe significantly, giving researchers <\/strong>updates about every hour. The agency expects to launch the first two satellites as early as June 12th, with two more launches scheduled for later in the year. <\/p>\n

The satellites are headed for low Earth orbit, where they\u2019ll circle the globe at an angle about 30 degrees above the equator. That will put them in the perfect place to peer over the areas where most tropical cyclones are born, ranging from the United States\u2019 mid-Atlantic region to Australia\u2019s southern coast.<\/p>\n

Each satellite is just under a foot long and equipped with a powerful instrument that\u2019s about as big as a cup of coffee. The instrument, a mini microwave radiometer, can measure heat and light emanating from oxygen and water vapor in the air. The frequencies measured by the TROPICS satellites will give researchers and forecasters even more insight into how a storm develops and strengthens. <\/strong>They\u2019ll even be able to craft 3D images of the environment fueling a particular storm. <\/p>\n

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