What would the Earth look like through a colossal pair of binoculars? Just watch NASA's newly released earth-from-space video above to find out.
The mesmerizing "bi-ocular" animation spotlights weather patterns over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans during a 10-day period between March 19 and March 29. The images used to make it were captured by a pair of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES), which the agency created in conjunction with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The satellites are in fixed orbits 60 degrees apart, so looking through their "eyes" produces a pair of offset images. Using this technique, scientists can get an all-in-one view of large weather systems moving across half the globe.
"I was inspired to create this 10-day long, up-to-date, animation of the western hemisphere by the long-range skill in this winter’s severe weather forecasts," GOES project scientist Dr. Dennis Chesters said in a written statement released by the space agency. "Indeed, the forecasts are made possible by the geosynchronous satellites’ ability to follow storms carried around the world by the westerlies."
The data are updated every three hours, which means you can see the progress on the NASA website eight times each day.
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