Altitude of Weather Satellite

To whom it may concern,

I'd like to make a correction to the weather report: Tell your weatherman that his satellite isn't 23,000 miles high. He said so about 5 minutes ago. 23000 [miles] x 5280 [feet per mile] = 121,440,000 [feet].

Satellites typically go about 23,000 miles per hour. Maybe he was confused.

I hope this was helpful.

Thank you for your time.

Jared Ferreira

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Hello Mr. Ferreira,

 

Nice hearing from you.  I appreciate your time and energy in helping me better serve your weather needs.

 

The weather satellite I refered to is a Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES). The following explanation is copied and pasted from NOAA Satellite and Information Service (NOAASIS).

 

GOES satellites provide the kind of continuous monitoring necessary for intensive data analysis. They circle the Earth in a geosynchronous orbit, which means they orbit the equatorial plane of the Earth at a speed matching the Earth's rotation. This allows them to hover continuously over one position on the surface. The geosynchronous plane is about 35,800 km (22,300 miles) above the Earth, high enough to allow the satellites a full-disc view of the Earth. Because they stay above a fixed spot on the surface, they provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric "triggers" for severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms, and hurricanes. When these conditions develop the GOES satellites are able to monitor storm development and track their movements.

 

Hope this helps.

 

My best,

 

Mike Nicco

KGO-TV Morning/Midday Meteorologist

Mike.nicco@abc.com

 

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I figured that the two being closely related (as it's now apparent) that one was being confused for the other.  Thank you for taking the time to correct me with the citation also.  I appreciate it.   Jared