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The Visible Wavelength Channel

Channel No. Central Wavelength (µm) Sample sub-point (E/W x N/S)
Resolution(km)
Common Reference
1 0.65 0.57 x 1.00 visible, VIS

The GOES visible wavelength channel produces images which can be thought of as black-and-white photographs of the earth and clouds from outer space. During the daylight hours, it is the most widely used channel because it has the highest resolution of the five imaging channels, and because it approximates what we see with the human eye.

The primary utility of the VIS channel imagery is in the day-time monitoring of thunderstorms and tropical cyclones. These applications are discussed in the following pages covering Channel 1. Some other interesting features that can be distinguished with the GOES visible imagery are shown in the imagery below. These image "thumbnails" may be individually clicked upon with the mouse in order to bring up a larger image that shows the feature/s defined under them.

Wet Ground

Wet Ground

Blowing Dust

Blowing Dust

Snow and Ice

Snow and Ice

Fog

Fog

Volcanic Ash

Volcanic Ash

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