New weather satellite reaches orbit

The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite to be launched into space has reached its orbit and unfurled the solar panels.

Built by Boeing, GOES-14 cost $499 million and will orbit 22,300 miles above the Earth.  It will be positioned to monitor weather conditions in the Atlantic Ocean and eastern United States.

Eventually the satellite pictures you see during the weathercasts on ABC13 will be taken by GOES-14.  But not for awhile. It will take NASA about five months to check all the on-board systems and prepare the weather satellite for daily use. Then operational control will be transferred to NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Once it's ready, NOAA plans to store GOES-14 in orbit. There are currently two older weather satellites in use.  Another weather satellite, GOES-13, is also being stored in orbit and is ready to monitor the weather in the Pacific and western United States.

A little known fact about satellites

It's actually cheaper to store the instruments in orbit. It costs over $3 million a year, plus man-power, to store a satellite on the ground. Sitting in space, the satellite uses a little fuel and battery power to maintain its position, but NASA designs the satellite so it can be stored for two years.

The normal life span of a weather satellite is ten years. But like everything NASA builds, they usually last much longer.

Image courtesy NASA/Honeywell Tech Solutions, C. Meaney

Watering tips

I was walking around my yard yesterday morning (before it got terribly hot) and I noticed that there were big cracks in the dirt.  Next to the house and my driveway, the ground is so dry it's pulling away from the concrete.

A landscaper I know suggested I change my lawn watering schedule. Instead of running the sprinkler for 10-15 minutes, he suggested I cut the time in half and water twice.  This uses the same amount of water, but it allows the moisture to soak into the ground a little deeper and cuts down on run-off.

He also said that with this extreme heat, we need to water more often if we want a lush, green yard.  And that, of course, means our water bill will be much higher next month. At some point, we might have to be satisfied to have a yellowish-green yard, which is still better than a brown yard.

Some local communities like Conroe, the Woodlands and Pearland have restrictions which limit when and how often you can water. Other cities could follow if we don't get rain soon. 

Your old battery powered TV won't work after June 12

When all TV stations switch to a full-digital broadcast this Friday, you will only be able to watch ABC13 on a digital TV.  That battery powered TV you use to watch storm coverage when the power goes out will no longer work, unless it is a digital TV.

Just in time for the digital TV switch (and Father's Day), the price has come down on rechargeable digital TV's.  I found one on sale at Target for $99, plus free shipping!  Radio Shack and Best Buy are selling models for $149. 

I noticed these three models use rechargeable internal batteries. You can't use standard batteries. Our engineers here at ABC13 tell me that's because the LCD screen requires more power than standard batteries can supply. 

However, most come with adapters that allow you to recharge the TV using a standard wall outlet or the outlet in your car.

The recycling habit

Today is Earth Day, and it's also recycling day in many neighborhoods.  I was thinking about that coincidence as I was driving down the street this morning. Sadly, many homes did not have a recycling bin sitting by the curb, waiting for pick-up.

Why? Recycling is so easy... once you make it a habit.

In my house, we recycle everything we can: newspapers, junk mail, envelopes from real mail, tin cans, soda cans, water bottles, milk jugs, wine bottles, and all sorts of plastic.  The latter takes one extra step; you have to check the symbol on the bottom of the plastic container to make sure it's recyclable. Most are.

Over spring break we went to Disney World* and everywhere in every park we found a recycling bin next to the trash can.  Even in the hotel rooms, the resort encouraged guests to recycle by supplying a separate bag for plastic bottles and paper.

A couple of weeks later we went to the Bayou City Art Festival and there was not one recycling bin in the whole park.  I actually paused when I went to throw away a water bottle and looked around to try and find a recycling bin.  The trash can was full of plastic bottles and aluminum beer bottles that were later dumped in a landfill.  What a waste.

I'd like to see Mayor Bill White and our city leaders require festival organizers to place recycling bins next to very trash can at all future city festivals and events.

The Houston Texans are recycling! Next time you go to a football game at Reliant Stadium, look for the recycling bin. You can't miss the large gray bottle.

Sure, recycling bins take up a little more floor space. But once people get into the habit, the trash bin can be switched out for a smaller container.

At home, this week I noticed my big black trash can was half-full when I wheeled it to the curb!

*Full disclosure: Disney owns ABC13. But I still would have lauded their recycling efforts even if I didn't work for them.

Satellite shows ground movement during earthquake

We've been using satellites to show the weather from above for over 40 years.  Today's generation of space-based eyes can do a lot more than take pictures of clouds.

A European satellite captured the movement of the ground during the earthquake that shook Italy last week. By combining two images of the same area before and after the quake, scientists can see how much the earth moved and the pattern of the movement. The data is accurate down to a few millimeters!

To confirm the data, the Earthquake Remote Sensing Group verified the satellite data using land-based GPS sensors.

Time to E-Cycle your old electronics!

You have another chance to get rid of all your old electronics this Friday, April 17.

Stop by the ABC13 studios during our third annual Earth Day E-Cycle Drive!  We'll be be accepting old electronic equipment between 6 AM and 2 PM. Just drive up and our team of volunteers will even unload your car while you wait!

If you stop by between 9-10 AM, you might even be on TV!  Casey Curry and I will be hosting a live television program celebrating Earth Day 2009!

The sun's "blankest year"

Chances are the image to the right is what you imagine the sun looks like: a hot, bubbly sphere.  Well, this is what the sun looked like back in the year 2000. This image from NASA shows the ultraviolet light given off by an active sun, covered with hot spots.

But that's not what the sun looks like today.  For the past several months the surface of the sun has been blank, with almost no sunspots reported. That's not really a bad thing since increased sunspot activity can affect high-tech devices here on Earth.

Sunspots have a 11-year cycle.  But this quiet phase has been going on a lot longer than most expected. (I first wrote about this back in 2007.)

Vernal Equinox marks beginning of spring

The Vernal Equinox is Friday, March 20. Even though we've already had a few warm days, this is the day most people consider the official beginning of spring.

The word “equinox” literally means “equal night.” The sun is positioned directly over the equator, so day and night are about equal length all over the world.

Yet the sunrise and sunset on the equinox are not exactly 12 hours apart. Why? Because the sunrise and sunset times indicate when the very top part of the sun rises above or sets below the horizon. However, there is about 12 hours between the time the center of the sun rises and sets on the day of the equinox.

Live! From outer space, it's NASA-TV!

I remember watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon for the first time. The jerky, grainy pictures appeared like magic on our little black-and-white TV.

We've come a long way since then.

Live pictures from space are commonplace on TV. And now thanks to faster Internet connections, you can watch your favorite astronaut on your computer...LIVE!

You can watch and listen to the astronauts as they work on the space station and catch views of Earth as they pass overhead.

It should get real interesting once the Space Shuttle docks with the ISS later this week.

ABC13 viewers capture the moment!

During the news at 6 tonight, I mentioned that the high-level cirrus clouds would provide a spectacular sunset. I asked you to grab your camera and take a picture of the sunset from your neighborhood. And you did!

Mark Boshart took this picture from Fairchilds, south of Rosenberg in Fort Bend County.

weatherblog.abc13.com

Check out the shades of purples and golds in this photo from Linda Lucas in Coldspring.

weatherblog.abc13.com

Here's the view over Lake Conroe. Thanks to Mike and Nancy Zimmerman.

Thanks to everyone who stopped and captured the moment. And thanks for sharing your pictures with me and all our viewers.