CALIPSO lasers flash brightly in the Colorado sky on January 27, 2015.
CALIPSO lasers flash brightly in the Colorado sky on January 27, 2015.
CALIPSO — NASA’s Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation satellite — sends out 20 laser pulses every second, and each is only 20 billionths of a second long. The satellite uses lidar — light detection and ranging — that is similar to radar but employs light instead of microwave energy.
When looking at CALIPSO’s lights, it’s best not to use anything more powerful than binoculars. The data from CALIPSO helps to answer questions about Earth’s warming and cooling patterns as they are affected by clouds and aerosols.
Credit: Gregg Hendry/Ball Aerospace