Model answer

GOES = Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite. NOAA’s weather satellites.

They sit way up high, parked over the equator, orbiting at exactly Earth’s rotation rate — so they appear stationary over one hemisphere all day.

That continuous stare is what makes them perfect for weather: hurricane tracking, severe storms, wildfires, fog, lightning. The newest generation (GOES-R series) takes a full-disk image every 10 minutes.

Spatial resolution is coarse (~½ km to 2 km), but you get time in exchange.

🔬 Show the science / technical version

• NOAA weather satellite series.
• Geostationary orbit ~36 000 km above the equator — continuously images the same hemisphere.
• Current instrument: ABI (Advanced Baseline Imager) — 16 bands, full-disk every 10 min, CONUS every 5 min.
• Used for hurricane tracking, wildfires, fog, storm prediction.