National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The animation shows the Aura satellite with its blue solar panel pointed to the left. Each instrument's field of view is illustrated by a beam originating from the instrument. The beam points to the area in the atmosphere measured by that instrument. The instruments are designed to work together and probe the atmosphere nearly simultaneously. Depending on their field of view, some instruments will get global coverage in one day while others will need several days of scanning to complete their coverage of the globe. Technical details on MLS, TES, OMI and HIRDLS measurements and field of views can be found on the "Instrument" page. MLS scans the atmosphere with an up and down motion looking forward along the satellite track. TES points downward and can scan +/- 45 degrees from vertical. TES also scans with an up and down motion looking back behind the satellite. OMI looks down at the atmosphere with a wide field of view. HIRDLS scans up and down in a direction behind the satellite.

The "A" Train : The Afternoon Constellation (Aqua, CALIPSO, Cloudsat, PARASOL, Aura)
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