The team says that data from the satellite will also help international weather forecasting and climate change monitoring. That additional detail from the higher-resolution imagery, coupled with the fact that images will be produced more frequently, means forecasters will be able to more accurately and rapidly detect and predict severe weather events,” the team said. But the level of detail seen for the clouds in this image is extraordinarily important to weather forecasters. “It might sound odd to be so excited about a cloudy day in most of Europe. This higher resolution allows weather features like clouds to be tracked more accurately, while also offering a view of how weather systems move across this part of the globe. The instruments on the Meteosat (MTG) are of a higher resolution than previous tools, as it is the first of a new generation of European weather satellites. The first image from the Meteosat Third Generation Imager-1 reveals a level of detail about the weather over Europe and Africa not previously possible from 22,000 miles above Earth.

The image was taken using the high-resolution Flexible Combined Imager instrument in March 2023, showing the areas of cloud and clear skies that can be seen over the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the European and African land masses.

The European Meteosat Third Generation Imager-1 was launched in December of last year with the aim of monitoring weather conditions across Europe and Africa, and it took this image from its location 22,000 miles above the Earth’s surface. A recently launched weather satellite has sent back its first image of Earth, showing our planet in gorgeous detail.

Satellite view of space