Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Weather satellite
Introduction References & Edit History
Images & Videos
weather satellite TIROS weather satellite Image of Hurricane Camille generated by means of computer processing of data supplied by the Nimbus 3 meteorological satellite. By observing hurricanes in colour, meteorologists can determine cloud heights using cloud temperatures. For example, ground or sea surface temperatures, or low clouds, appear purple; middle clouds appear yellow; high clouds appear blue; while the highest clouds, in the eye of the hurricane, appear gray. Nimbus 3 was launched April 14, 1969.
Discover how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's weather satellites track the weather
Quizzes
Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
All About Astronomy
Quick Facts
Britannica AI Icon
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
weather satellite
weather satellite GOES-8, a U.S. weather satellite, 1994.

Weather satellite

spacecraft
Also known as: meteorological satellite
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
Last updated
•History

Weather satellite, any of a class of Earth satellites designed to monitor meteorological conditions (see Earth satellite).

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.