Europe's latest weather satellite got a glimpse of the Moon before it disappeared from view behind Earth on Friday last week.
An image taken by the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) instrument in the central compartment of the third Meteosat Second Generation (MSG-3) satellite shows the second full Moon of the month -- known as a 'blue' Moon -- just before it disappeared from the satellite’s sight behind the southern hemisphere.
Brazil's eastern coast along the South Atlantic Ocean is also visible in the image, with clouds forming over the water.
Launched on July 5, the third Meteosat Second Generation satellite is in a six-month commissioning phase by Eumetsat (Darmstadt,Germany), the European Organisation for Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.
The European Space Agency (ESA) developed the satellite in close co-operation with Eumetsat, and was responsible for initial operations after launch. It was then handed over to Eumetsat on July 16.
The first satellite in the series, MSG-1 -- also known as Meteosat-8 -- was launched in 2002. MSG-2 followed three years later. Both have continued the legacy of the operational meteorological satellites that started with Meteosat-1 in 1977.
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-- Dave Wilson, Senior Editor, Vision Systems Design
