GOES-1 VISSR: Visible Satellite Imagery Scans from 1975

The Western Hemisphere, as viewed from geostationary orbit at 115°W longitude, is covered by this historical weather imagery. It consists of visible spectrum (0.55–0.70 µm) scans from the first GOES satellite, originally recorded on 70mm film and later digitized into TIFF files. Each image includes metadata titles and a 33-level grayscale for brightness temperature calibration, with a maximum spatial resolution of 3.7 km per pixel.

Use Cases

• Analyzing cloud patterns and storm development in 1975 based on visible spectrum imagery.
• Calibrating modern image processing algorithms using the embedded 33-level grayscale brightness temperature reference.
• Studying the evolution of satellite sensor technology by comparing early VISSR imagery with contemporary systems.
• Digitizing and archiving historical meteorological records from film-based sources for long-term preservation.

Strengths

• Provides foundational imagery from the first operational geostationary weather satellite (GOES-1), launched in 1975.
• Includes detailed technical annotations within each image, such as satellite ID, coordinates, start time, and scaling information.
• Offers high-resolution scans for the era, with a maximum effective size of 4000 by 3904 pixels covering approximately 500 sq km.

Limitations

• Metadata conflicts exist: one source lists a last update date of 2026-04-09, while another lists 1976-10 28, indicating potential provenance confusion.
• Key descriptive metadata is incomplete; specific row counts, total file size, and detailed column/attribute definitions are not provided.
• The data is derived from a secondary digitization process (film scans), which may introduce artifacts compared to the original digital tapes.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS) and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Collection Method

Imagery was originally produced from digital tapes onto 70mm film using commercial equipment, then later scanned to digital TIFF files.

Time Range

1975-12-18 onward

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:11:06.271479

Geography

Western Hemisphere, from geostationary orbit at 115°W longitude over the equator.