The first image of the latest tool for tracking space lightning, belonging to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has been released and it is stunning. The GOES-19 weather satellite began testing the fixed lightning mapping tool for Earth, just as two powerful hurricanes hit parts of the United States.
The latest addition to the operational environmental satellite family for Earth, GOES-19, is designed to monitor all forms of lightning. While you may be more familiar with cloud-to-ground lightning, other types of lightning are limited to the sky. When hurricanes Helen and Milton formed, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its partner NASA were able to witness this thanks to the GLM with unprecedented detail and accuracy. NOAA stated in a release that the future data collected by GOES-19 could be vital in developing new storm analysis and prediction models, and it could also play a major role in helping to draw safer flight paths with the formation of future storms, especially in radar coverage-deficient ocean areas.
Contrary to the destruction on Earth, the images from space are breathtakingly beautiful. While the footage showed lightning strikes like tendrils through storm clouds in both hurricanes, they also show how storms formed in different ways. The images captured on September 24th show several thunderstorms converging to form Hurricane Helen, which reached land two days later and hit six states. On the other hand, when Milton began forming, intensified and continuous lightning in the storm’s eye could be seen. The storm eventually became a Category 5 hurricane and caused significant damage throughout Florida.
NOAA stated in a release that the images and data collected so far are preliminary. The satellite, which was launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in June, is currently undergoing post-launch testing, where its tools and systems are prepared for full operation.
The fourth and final satellite in the series launched in 2016 is designed to monitor heavy rain, snowstorms, forest fires, floods, lightning, thick fog, and other weather events. Once fully operational, which NOAA says should happen in April 2025, it will replace its predecessor GOES-16 as GOES-East. The name is somewhat confusing, as the satellite is positioned in orbit above the Western Hemisphere, but it’s all relative. GOES-East orbits above the 75-degree west longitude line, while GOES-West orbits above the 132-degree west longitude line. The divide between them is the 100-degree west longitude line, where the Great Plains begin. Makes sense, right?
Despite the stunning images captured by GOES-19, there is more advanced weather imaging on the horizon. NASA and NOAA are collaborating to develop the next generation of environmental monitoring satellites, called the Geostationary Extended Observing System (GeoXO). Equipped with more advanced tools for lightning observation and mapping, as well as monitoring air quality, severe weather events, algae blooms in oceans, water quality, oil spills, and a host of other potentially hazardous phenomena. GeoXO is currently scheduled to begin operations sometime in the early 2030s.
