ESA's new weather satellite sends back images of Earth with impressive detail

The European Space Agency's (ESA) latest weather monitoring satellite, Meteosat Third Generation Imager-1 (MTG-I1), has just sent scientists the first detailed image of the Earth. extremely high.

MTG-I1 was deployed in geostationary orbit 22,000 miles above the earth's equator in December 2022 using an Ariane 5 rocket. The satellite is designed to monitor weather conditions in the region. Europe and Africa region. MTG-I1 captured the first image of the Earth on March 18, 2023 using the ultra-modern integrated Flexible Combined Imager system. The image shows much of Northern and Western Europe as well as Scandinavia covered with clouds, while skies are relatively clear over the Western Balkans and Italy.

Witnessing the photo, ESA director Simonetta Cheli had to say:

This image is a great example of what Europe's scientific achievements can be achieved in the field of space research. The level of detail we see here is unbelievable, especially when compared to other images of Europe and Africa taken from geostationary orbit that have been recorded to date.

ESA knows instruments on modern weather satellites such as MTG-I1 can produce more frequent and high-resolution images than previous second-generation Meteosat satellites. Its flexible hybrid imaging system can scan the entire Earth's disk in 10 minutes and provide images across Europe in just 2.5 minutes.

MTG-I1 continues the legacy of weather satellites that Europe deployed into orbit beginning in 1977 with the successful launch of Meteosat-1. This is the first of six third-generation Meteosat imaging devices that ESA has planned to operate and use to collect critical weather data over the next 20 years.

The ESA says that the MTG satellite is currently undergoing a test run, during which data is being collected and calibrated. The data will be distributed to meteorological services in Europe and other regions later this year, and will soon be available to weather apps. You can download the original quality version of the image HERE (68.91 MB).