When the huge eruption happened over the weekend, a fleet of spacecraft overhead gathered key data.
When an enormous underwater volcanic eruption occurred in the South Pacific near Tonga on Saturday, satellites were in position to capture what had happened.
That's because there's a large and growing fleet of Earth observation spacecraft overhead. Some have constant eyes on particular regions of the Earth, meaning their data is immediately available to study, while others are tasked with making follow-up observations. All of the information these satellites gathered will aid the emergency response, and help scientists better understand the event.There are a group of spacecraft that monitor weather systems from 36,000km above the Earth. They scan an entire hemisphere every few minutes, relaying images of what they see to the ground to inform up-to-date forecasts.
It was these meteorology satellites that recorded some of the most spectacular views of the volcano's ash cloud as it climbed high into the sky.This shows data from all three weather satellites covering the area. From left to right: Korea's GK-2A, Japan's Himawari-8 and the US GOES-17.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
People are discovering the truth about why there's a hole in spaghetti spoonsHAVE you ever wondered why there’s a hole in the middle of your spaghetti spoon? Over the years, there have been various theories as to the hole’s purpose, but the latest suggests it…
Read more »
My son’s sister is arriving soon – but why is his dad’s tummy also starting to grow?Our boy’s cute habit of speaking to and patting his mum’s stomach has branched out to include doing the same thing – slightly less adorably – to mine
Read more »
Why Sherlock never recovered from surviving his own death, 10 years onThe 2012 episode, which aired 10 years ago this weekend, became one of the most talked-about cliffhangers in TV history, writes Michael Hogan. But while Sherlock survived ‘The Reichnbach Fall’, the show didn’t
Read more »
Inside Man: Jermaine Gallacher on why ‘bad’ taste is sometimes bestOur new interiors columnist, London’s off-beat style guru Jermaine Gallacher, says it’s time to embrace the DIY ethos and individuality of Nineties Changing Rooms.
Read more »
This scene in the first episode of Euphoria had us all holding our breath – here’s whyUse the weekend to catch up on Euphoria – here's why you need to watch that explosive first episode
Read more »