Satellite data is the single most important source of weather data used to input into weather forecast models, providing millions of points of information that help to make forecasts accurate. And yet there was a time when there was no man-made satellite looking down on the earth. April 1, 1960 was the first date that a regular weather satellite beamed an image of clouds and land down to us on the surface. Today’s Earth Science Picture of the Day celebrates that milestone by reprinting the first image. You can read more about it at https://epod.usra.edu/blog/2016/04/first-routine-satellite-observation-of-earths-weather.html.
