Global Suomi NPP mosaic

This image from November 24, 2011, is the first complete global image from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite mission. Satellites like Suomi NPP get a complete view of our planet each day, which allows us to create beautiful images of Earth. While it might seem simple, it is actually a rather complex process. Multiple, adjacent swaths of satellite data are pieced together like a quilt to make one global image. Suomi NPP was placed in a unique orbit around the planet that takes the satellite over the equator at the same local (ground) time every orbit. The satellite images the Earth’s surface in long wedges measuring 1900 miles across. The swaths from each successive orbit overlap one another, so that at the end of the day, the satellite has a complete view of the world. Data over the Arctic are missing because the surface is too dark to view in visible light during the winter.

See the following sources:

• http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=76674
• http://npp.gsfc.nasa.gov