What is a weather satellite?

A weather satellite is a satellite used by meteorologists to gather more information on the weather. Weather satellites give meteorologists a view of weather patterns over a very large area.This helps them track large weather patterns and have more accurate predictions on weather behavior. Weather satellites travel in two different orbits, polar and geostationary.

TIROS 1 first weather satellite

How does a weather satellite work?

Geostationary weather satellites orbit the Earth above the equator.Because of this orbit, they remain stationary with respect to the rotating Earth.The news media use the geostationary photos in their daily weather presentation as single pictures or made into movie loops (slide show).

Polar orbiting weather satellites circle the Earth in a up down path passing over both poles in there continuous orbit.Polar satellites are in sun synchronos orbits, which means they are able to look at any place on Earth and will see every location twice a day.Polar orbiting weather satellites offer a much better resolution than their geostationary counterparts due their closeness to the Earth.

When was the first weather satellite launched in space?

The first weather satellite launched in space TIROS-1 (short for Television Infrared Observation Satellite) was launched into orbit on april 1, 1960 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. TIROS-1 sent the first TV images to earth. TIROS I was 19 inches tall and 42 inches in diameter.Two TV cameras were placed in the 270 pound satellite along with two tape recorders which could be used to store pictures.The satellite viewed earths cloud cover from a 450 mile orbit.The launch of TIROS 1 was the beginning of regularly viewing weather from space.

Weather Satellites see weather from space!