Family Email Satellite Matches

Get a Personalized Email from NASA: Satellite Matches


Image of eath and satellite When you submit a Cloud observation to GLOBE, it is compared to satellite data. Geostationary satellites observe the same location of the Earth. Orbiting satellites observe the entire planet. Observation times and locations are used for comparison. For orbiting satellites there might be a match if a satellite was overhead within 15 minutes before or after the observation. Geostationary satellite matches are dependent on your location. If there is a match, NASA will send you a personalized email. The email will detail your observation and the satellite data. To improve your chances of a match, the app can alert you when a satellite will be over your area. You can find this setting in the GLOBE Observer app on the main clouds screen.

The satellite match table guide is a great resource to find out how to read the satellite match table.

Need some help identifying which cloud you are looking at? Read this post by NASA Scientist Dr. Lin Chambers with helpful tips to tell the different cloud types. You can also use this dichotomous key guide that can help you figure out the type of cloud in your sky. (A dichotomous key is a series of yes or no questions.)

Take an observation during a satellite flyover (read more about how the satellite comparison works, versión en español sobre la correspondencia con el satélite)

Join NASA scientists Marilé Colón Robles, Tina Rogerson and NASA educator Heather Mortimer share why satellite matches to GLOBE cloud observations are important and how to read a satellite match table.