Japan, October 8, 2014: Japan has launched a new weather satellite Himawari-8 into space to get better in forecasting of typhoons and detecting volcanic gas plumes.
According to an official of the Japan Meteorological Agency, the new satellite will "can obtain a satellite image of a typhoon once every 2.5 minutes, against the current pace of once every 30 minutes.”
“As satellite images will become multi-colour from the current black and white, it will be easier to observe volcanic gas" which will be helpful for early warnings of a volcanic eruption, added the official.
The satellite was built by the Mitsubishi Electric Corporation with assistance from Boeing. It carries three payloads: the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI), Space Environment Data Acquisition Monitor (SEDA) and the Data Collection Subsystem (DCS).
The 16 channel advanced multispectral imager, the core instrument, operating at visible-light and infrared wavelengths, will produce full-disc and area images.
The Himawari series of satellites began with the launch of Japan’s Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (GMS) in July 1977.
Source: JMA
