Satellite Captures Night-time image of California’s Springs Fire
<br>
The Suomi NPP satellite carries an instrument so sensitive to low light levels that it can detect wildfires in the middle of the night.
The Day/Night band on Suomi/NPP produces Night-Time visible imagery using illumination from natural (the moon, forest fires) and man-made sources (city lights, gas flares).
On May 3 and 4, 2013, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on Suomi-NPP acquired animated images of the Springs Fire blazing near Los Angeles, California. The animation clearly shows the fire as a bright white circular area on May 3 near Point Mugu State Park.
As the light of the fire traveled through the smoke, it got scattered (like shining a flashlight through smoke) appears brighter on the satellite image. The bright spot disappeared on May 4 as the blaze was coming under control as a result of firefighting efforts. The animation was created with data from the instrument’s “day-night band,” which sensed the fire in the visible portion of the spectrum.
According to Reuters news on May 6, the Springs Fire consumed as much as 28,000 acres of brush in the coastal area located northwest of Los Angeles. The fire started on Thursday, May 2, and by Sunday, May 5, the weather allowed firefighters to put containment lines around the fire.
Image Credit: William Straka III, University of Wisconsin, CIMSS
Text Credit: Rob Gutro, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Media Contact
All latest news from the category: Earth Sciences
Earth Sciences (also referred to as Geosciences), which deals with basic issues surrounding our planet, plays a vital role in the area of energy and raw materials supply.
Earth Sciences comprises subjects such as geology, geography, geological informatics, paleontology, mineralogy, petrography, crystallography, geophysics, geodesy, glaciology, cartography, photogrammetry, meteorology and seismology, early-warning systems, earthquake research and polar research.
Newest articles
Machine learning algorithm reveals long-theorized glass phase in crystal
Scientists have found evidence of an elusive, glassy phase of matter that emerges when a crystal’s perfect internal pattern is disrupted. X-ray technology and machine learning converge to shed light…
Mapping plant functional diversity from space
HKU ecologists revolutionize ecosystem monitoring with novel field-satellite integration. An international team of researchers, led by Professor Jin WU from the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Hong…
Inverters with constant full load capability
…enable an increase in the performance of electric drives. Overheating components significantly limit the performance of drivetrains in electric vehicles. Inverters in particular are subject to a high thermal load,…
