NASA has launched a new website allowing the public to view images snapped by its Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite. The service will provide multiple shots of stunning Earth imagery seven days a week, mere hours after capture.
DSCOVR is operatedthrough a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the US Air Force, with amission to monitor space weather emanating from the Sun, and serve asa form of early warning system for potentially harmful events.
DSCOVR will also makeuse of its position relative to Earth to keep track of dailyvariations in our planet's atmospheric and surface health. The imagesuploaded to the website are captured by the probe's EarthPolychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), an advanced camera with an effectiveresolution ranging from 6.2 - 9.4 miles (10 - 15 km).
The orbiter is able toregularly capture Earth's disk fully bathed in sunlight thanks to itspresence at what is known as the L1 Lagrange point, a specialorbital position about one million miles out from our planet thatplaces the probe in a near constant position suspended between theEarth and Sun.
Images featured on thewebsite are captured roughly 12 – 36 hours prior to release, andfeature a simple graphic to the top left of the page informing usersof the relative positions and distances of the DSCOVR satellite andour Sun. The page also displays a globe highlighting the landmassesthat are in view.
Archived images will beaccessible by searching for the subject's capture date and thecontinents displayed in the image.
With the websiteoperational, NASA will provide a regular stream of images to thepublic at a rate of at least a dozen per day, representing the mostcomprehensive and unified full-Earth viewing service ever launched.
Source: NASA