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Summary
DescriptionGoes14 firstimage.png
English: First Public Image from GOES 14 taken with the Solar X-ray Imager (SXI). GOES 14 SXI monitors the Sun’s X-rays for the early detection of solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and other phenomena that impact the geospace environment. This early warning is important because travelling solar disturbances affect not only the safety of humans in high-altitude missions, such as human spaceflight, but also military and commercial satellite communications. In addition, coronal mass ejections can damage long-distance electric power grids, causing extensive power blackouts.
Images produced by NOAA are usually free of copyright [...]
GOES satellites provide the kind of continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. They circle the Earth in a geosynchronous orbit, which means they orbit the equatorial plane of the Earth at a speed matching the Earth's rotation. This allows them to hover continuously over one position on the surface. The geosynchronous plane is about 35,800 km (22,300 miles) above the Earth, high enough to allow the satellites a full-disc view of the Earth. Because they stay above a fixed spot on the surface, they provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric "triggers" for severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms, and hurricanes. When these conditions develop the GOES satellites are able to monitor storm development and track their movements.
{{Information |Description={{en|1=First Public Image from GOES 14 taken with the Solar X-ray Imager (SXI). GOES 14 SXI monitors the Sun’s X-rays for the early detection of solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and other phenomena that impact the geospac