Climate & Environment
A blanket of clouds over the ocean
A satellite picture, two dates, and a lesson in reading science news.
A new satellite image shows a wide blanket of clouds over the Pacific Ocean near California. NASA featured the image on October thirteenth, but the satellite took it on October sixth. Keeping these two dates separate helps us understand what the picture actually shows.
The camera is an instrument called MODIS on the Terra satellite. From space, it can show cloud patterns across a large area. The white clouds stand out against the darker ocean below.
Word in this story
reflectverb
To send light back from a surface.
Thick clouds reflect sunlight back towards space.