COSMIC Visuals & Multimedia Gallery |
|
Visuals illustrating December 11, 2006 News Release
 |
 |
| These images show how well a computer model was able to simulate the early development of Hurricane Ernesto in the eastern Caribbean. Each image shows a 66-hour forecast of cloud-water concentration (resembling a satellite photo). The forecasts are valid for 8:00 p.m. AST on August 25, 2006. On the left-hand side, the model’s starting-point conditions included 15 COSMIC profiles of atmospheric conditions in and near the Caribbean. On the right-hand side, the profiles were not included, and the model was unable to show Ernesto’s formation. Click on the images to enlarge. (Images courtesy Yongsheng Chen, NCAR.) |
Visuals illustrating April 12, 2006 News Release
Occultation Locations for COSMIC, 24
Hrs
A. COSMIC
Soundings. To obtain
humidity profiles and other data essential for weather
prediction, forecasters now depend on satellite-based
instruments called radiometers and on surface-launched
weather balloons. The radiometers cannot see through
clouds and do best at wide-angle views of the atmosphere.
The weather balloons carry instruments called radiosondes
that are launched twice daily in about 900 spots scattered
widely across the globe. Hardly any of these "soundings" are
launched over the oceans. COSMIC promises a dramatic
boost in data. Its radio signals can penetrate clouds
and portray multiple layers of the atmosphere. And the
data gap over the oceans will be closed as COSMIC provides
about 2,500 sounding profiles every 24 hours. This
map shows the typical locations of a
day's worth of COSMIC soundings (green diamonds) compared
to existing
radiosonde launch sites (red circles). Click here or
on the image to enlarge. (Illustration by Bill Schreiner,
UCAR.)
|
|
B. FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC
Video (total running
time: 0:02:52). This short
video includes views of the microsatellites during assembly
and animations of their deployment in space. The
image above is from an animation of radio occultation, the
measurement method used by COSMIC. Click here or
on the image to watch the streaming video. (Video excerpts
courtesy National Space Organization [NSPO], Taiwan.)
Shot list
See the COSMIC
Fact Sheet for further explanation of the animations.
Credentialed
members of the media only may obtain standard definition
DVDs by contacting Nita
Razo, Visual Services.
|
|
C. Radio Occultation. When radio
signals from GPS satellites pass through the atmosphere,
the signals' paths are bent and their progress is slowed.
The rate of these changes depends on the atmosphere's density
along the path. COSMIC's low-Earth-orbiting (LEO) satellites
take advantage of this effect by intercepting the GPS radio
signals just above Earth's horizon and precisely measuring
the bend and signal delay along the signal path. Click here or
on the image to enlarge. (Illustration courtesy Broad Reach
Engineering.) |
|
D. A COSMIC microsatellite during testing, with its solar
panels open. Photo still from video. (Photo courtesy National
Space Organization [NSPO], Taiwan.) |
|
 E.
Artists' illustration. Six microsatellites are entering low-Earth
orbit to form COSMIC, the Constellation Observing System
for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate. The first constellation
of satellites to use radio occultation, COSMIC is expected
to provide a major boost in the quality and quantity of data
needed to improve global weather forecasts, climate monitoring,
and space weather monitoring. Click here or
on the image to enlarge. (Illustration courtesy Orbital Sciences
Corporation.) |
|
F. Edge view of COSMIC microsatellite during
testing, showing
one circular solar panel deployed. Photo still from video.
(Photo courtesy National Space Organization [NSPO], Taiwan.) |
|
G. A COSMIC microsatellite during testing. Just over 6 inches
deep, the satellite contains a GPS occultation transmitter,
a Tiny Ionospheric Photometer, and a tri-band beacon to relay
data to ground stations. Photo still from video. (Photo courtesy
National Space Organization [NSPO], Taiwan.) |
|
H. Bill Kuo is director of UCAR's COSMIC Project Office. Click here or
on the image to enlarge photo. (Photo by Carlye Calvin, UCAR.) |
|
I. COSMIC launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 6:40 p.m. PDT (9:40 p.m. EDT) on Friday, April 14, 2006. Click here or
on the image to enlarge photo. (Photo Courtesy of Orbital Sciences Corporation.) |
|
Additional
Web video
COSMIC Launch
Page
Scroll down to the COSMIC/FORMOSAT-3 Flash
presentation to launch additional animations with narration
from the National Space Organization, Taiwan, of mission components
(click on Science)
and constellation deployment/achievement of final orbits (click
on Technology).
The
Promise of GPS/MET (1995, streaming video, total running
time: 0:10:52)
This archival video describes UCAR's pioneering proof-of-concept
mission, including animations of radio occultation, footage of Earth
from space, and interviews with atmospheric scientists. Shot
List. Credentialed
members of the media only may obtain standard definition DVDs by
contacting Nita Razo, Visual Services. |
| Contacts for This Release |
| |
For Journalists
David Hosansky, head of Media Relations
303-497-8611, hosansky@ucar.edu
|
|
|
UCAR Communications
www.ucar.edu/news/contacts.shtml |
| |
General inquiries
Yvonne Mondragon,
303-497-8601, yvonnem@ucar.edu
Photo inquiries
Carlye Calvin, 303-497-8609, calvin@ucar.edu
Digital
Image Library
www.ucar.edu/imagelibrary |
|
|
*News
media terms of use: Reproduction to illustrate this story
and nonprofit use permitted with proper attribution as provided above
and acceptance of UCAR's terms
of use. Find more images in the UCAR
Digital Image Library.
The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research manages
the National Center for Atmospheric Research under sponsorship by the
National Science Foundation. Any opinions, findings and conclusions,
or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s)
and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
|
News
Feeds–RSS | Top
