Satellite observe more than just the weather This is not required material for class - I just though you might be interested in it. If you watch the evening weather report you will see a satellite 'loop' of the weather. We will discuss how to interpret this satellite images later in the course. We will also be analyzing satellite images to study different weather phenomena.
Satellites can do more than just monitor the weather.
The picture below is of a visible image taken from a weather satellite on August 16, 1996. This image was made during the daylight hours. Notice the smoke plumes. The fires are marked by red boxes. This was a bad summer for fires in the west because of the dry weather this summer, and the wet weather in the spring.