Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Looking up to look down
By
Joe Schumacher
Published Apr 22, 2004
Modified Mar 6, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Joe Schumacher
Published Apr 22, 2004
Modified Mar 6, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist had the great opportunity last week to see the Landsat 7 satellite ground receiving station at the EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, SD. Get your minds out of the gutter, EROS is an acronym for Earth Resources Observation Systems. We even got to see them twirl the ten-meter, four-ton dish around. The dish is enclosed in a dome because a previous version was destroyed by a hail storm. There are over 13,000 bolts holding the dome together and they are manually inspected once a year.
Landsat 7 is the latest in a series of satellites designed to monitor the earths land surface. The satellite is in orbit about 438 miles above the earth. It can see objects as small as 15 meters (49 feet) on a side. The instruments aboard the satellite can also be used to look at many weather-related phenomena such as tornado paths, wildfires, swirly clouds known as Von Karmen vortices, and the break-up of ice shelves. Why, you can even see little old Gotham itself.
Tagged
gothamist
hail
photos
tornado
weather
Joe Schumacher
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .