New weather satellite will track solar storms unleashed by the sun

Forecasters will soon have access to real-time mapping of lightning activity on Earth and better monitoring of solar storms. NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have launched a new weather satellite called GOES-U. It will replace the former GOES East satellite and work with GOES West to collect data on atmospheric, solar, climatic, and ocean conditions. GOES-U has a unique capability to track space weather, including solar flares and coronal mass ejections. It also carries instruments to monitor hurricanes, including a lightning mapper for tracking storm development and intensity. Other environmental hazards that GOES-U can monitor include wildfires, volcanic eruptions, and atmospheric river events. Additionally, GOES-U will collect climate data on Earth’s oceans.