Air Force.Įditor's note: This story has been updated to correct the type of eclipse DSCOVR saw in March 2016. Providing better forecasts of the solar wind helps the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) create real-time alerts about solar activity, which can affect satellites and power lines.ĭSCOVR is a partnership amongst NASA, NOAA and the U.S. They also trap heat from the Earth's surface, Herman said, so changes in cloud cover affect the heat balance of the planet.īut the primary scientific goal of DSCOVR is to monitor the constant stream of charged particles that fly from the sun, known as the solar wind.
One of EPIC's scientific goals is to track the motion of clouds, which reflect light from the sun and keep the planet cool. The spacecraft also records the sun rising and setting about 13 times each day from itsthe satellite's perspective. The video slows down briefly to show the moon's shadow racing across Earth in March 2016, during a total solar eclipse.
