Fires in Sudan
Wildfires in Sudan
19 January 2012
Like a baby learning to walk, the Visible Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is slowly adjusting to its new space environment and is gradually taking steps toward full operations.
The following two satellite imageries are a first VIIRS shot of wildfires burning in Sudan on 19 January 2012 (upper) compared with the MODIS Aqua scene (250 m resolution) depicting the same fire (lower).
Wildfires burning in South Sudan depicted by VIIRS on 19 January 2012.
Source: NASA Earth Observatory.
Wildfires burning in South Sudan depicted by MODIS Aqua (250 m resolution) on 19 January 2012.
Source: NASA Earth Observatory.
VIIRS was launched on October 28, 2011, on the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project (NPP) satellite and produced its first image on November 21. By January 19, 2012, the sensor acquired its first measurements of fires. These measurements and others from VIIRS are still preliminary, and scientists and engineers will continue testing and calibrating the measurements over the coming weeks before data are released for public use.
For more details see:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=77025&src=eoa-iotd
