Satellite View of Cloud Thickness
Below, the image to the left is an image of a cloud captured in the visible spectrum of light—the kind of light that we can see. This image was captured by a weather satellite. We’ve zoomed in on a piece of this image, which you can see below the larger satellite image. This zoomed in portion contains a cloud and some clear sky areas.
Use this simulator to learn about the different conditions that can cause changes in the appearance of satellite images. For example, in the simulation on the right, drag the top of the cloud up and down to change the cloud thickness. Cloud thickness changes the brightness of the clouds in the zoomed in image. You can also move the black triangle right or left to change the type of ground that is underneath the clouds. This can affect cloud brightness in the zoomed in image.
Questions
- What happens to the image when you make the cloud thinner?
- What happens to the image when you make the cloud thicker?
This content was produced by the NASA Space Place team at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NESDIS with funds from the GOES-R Series program and the JPSS program.