These images are not currently up to date. Please try back in a few weeks, when the problem may be corrected. The GOES-8 Visible Satellite Image is a black and white depiction of what the human eye would see. Darker areas are generally land and sea, where the reflection of sunlight is relatively low.
Lighter areas are usually clouds, which reflect sunlight very well.
Darker shades of gray indicate warm surfaces, such as land and sea, and light gray to white shades correspond to colder cloud tops. Darker shades of gray indicate dry regions, and lighter shades are representative of either moisture or clouds. Moisture features will usually be characterized by smooth, gradually changing patterns, while clouds will have more distinct shapes and edges.