EPIC Observations of Ice in Earth's Atmosphere, from a Million Miles Away

Credits

• Writer

  • Kate Ramsayer (Telophase) [Lead]

• Scientists

  • Alexander Kostinski (Michigan Technological University)
  • Alexander Marshak (NASA/GSFC)
  • Tamas Varnai (UMBC)

• Producer

  • Kathryn Mersmann (KBR Wyle Services, LLC) [Lead]

Related Pages

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    ID: 13056 Produced Video

    EPIC New Science from 1 Million Miles Away

    Sept. 27th, 2018
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    NASA's Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) sits onboard NOAA's Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite at the Lagrange point 1, a million miles away from Earth. EPIC has been imaging the sunlit side of Earth between 13 and 22 times a day since 2015. Now, scientists have developed ways to use these images to study specific elements of our home planet's atmosphere and plant life, like ozone in the stratosphere, the makeup of clouds and the health of vegetation on land. ||

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    ID: 12312 Produced Video

    One Year In The Life of Earth

    July 20th, 2016
    (updated Nov. 14th, 2023)

    On July 20, 2015, NASA released to the world the first image of the sunlit side of Earth captured by the space agency's EPIC camera on NOAA's DSCOVR satellite. The camera has now recorded a full year of life on Earth from its orbit at Lagrange point 1, approximately 1 million miles from Earth, where it is balanced between the gravity of our home planet and the sun. EPIC takes a new picture every two hours, revealing how the planet would look to human eyes, capturing the ever-changing motion of clouds and weather systems and the fixed features of Earth such as deserts, forests and the distinct blues of different seas. EPIC will allow scientists to monitor ozone and aerosol levels in Earth’s atmosphere, cloud height, vegetation properties and the ultraviolet reflectivity of Earth.The primary objective of DSCOVR, a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Air Force, is to maintain the nation’s real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities, which are critical to the accuracy and lead time of space weather alerts and forecasts from NOAA.For more information about DSCOVR, visit: http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/DSCOVR/. To view all the pictures EPIC has taken, visit https://epic.gsfc.nasa.gov. ||

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• Used as a Source In

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    ID: 13891 Produced Video

    An EPIC View of the Moon’s Shadow During the June 10 Solar Eclipse

    July 21st, 2021
    (updated May 3rd, 2023)

    NASA’s EPIC, Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), sits aboard NOAA’s Deep Space Climate Observatory Satellite (DSCOVR). EPIC provides high quality, color images of Earth, which are useful for monitoring factors like the planet’s vegetation, cloud height, and ozone. And every once in a while –– most recently, June 10, 2021 –– it has the opportunity to capture a solar eclipse.A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon is positioned between the Sun and Earth, leading the Moon’s shadow to be projected onto Earth. During a total solar eclipse, the Moon completely blocks the Sun. During an annular solar eclipse, like the one on June 10, the Moon is near its farthest point from Earth and appears smaller than the Sun in the sky. As the two align, the Sun appears as a ring of fire surrounding the dark disk of the Moon. On June 10, viewers in parts of Canada, Greenland, and Russia were treated to a full annular eclipse. People in a handful of other locations, including parts of the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, eastern United States, Alaska, and northern Africa, were able to catch a partial solar eclipse, where only part of the Sun is blocked by the Moon, leaving behind a crescent-shaped piece of Sun. EPIC didn’t have too bad a view, either.You can find more photos and videos from EPIC, including a few lunar photobombs, here. ||

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