CERES Bidirectional Scans: Terra FM2 Instrument Validation Data

CERES BDS Terra FM2 Edition1-CV provides 24 hours of Level-1B data from the CERES-FM2 instrument on the Terra satellite, collected for instrument validation. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) produces this data, which includes raw and geolocated science data from normal and short Earth scans in various modes. Data collection for this product is ongoing.

Use Cases

• Validate radiometric instrument calibration based on internal and solar calibration views mentioned in the description
• Analyze satellite position and velocity data for geolocation accuracy assessment
• Compare converted science data against raw Level-0 data to verify processing algorithms
• Study scan mode performance using data from fixed and rotating azimuth scan modes

Strengths

• Data includes 24 hours of Level-1B samples for each scanner instrument, as stated in the description
• Contains both raw unconverted data and geolocated converted science data, providing a basis for comparison
• Part of the long-running CERES mission, a key component of NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) program

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download
• Explicitly intended only for instrument validation and not suited for science publications
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected using the CERES-FM2 instrument on the Terra satellite platform.

Time Range

Data collection is ongoing; specific temporal coverage is not provided.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 20:36:32.387895; freshness should be verified

Geography

Global coverage from the Terra satellite's polar orbit.