Introduction
There are now fixed addresses for retrieving the latest satellite images so it is no longer necessary to browse the archive first. The images all have a grid overlaid but you can choose which channel you want and the image format. The addresses are as given below.
Note that if this is your first access to our site since starting your Web browser then you will be prompted for your account name and password. Subsequent accesses should not require any intervention on your part. You can set an authentication cookie to prevent the password prompts.
If using Linux, Unix or another command-line program for downloading images then you can usually supply the username and password as parameters. For example, wget has options --http-user=username and --http-passwd=password, Lynx has the option -auth=username:password.
Geostationary Satellites
Our archive of geostationary satellite images contains links to the most recently received image. Simply choose the appropriate channel and size and bookmark the resulting image. The time the image was received is printed in its lower left corner. Should the image contain missing segments check back later as sufficient segments may have been received to complete the image. It should be noted that the visible channels for all satellites apart from Meteosat Second Generation are not provided when the Earth is in darkness, therefore it is possible that the visible channel is from an earlier time to the other channels.
Meteosat 7 (First Generation) is currently being moved from 0 degrees to 57.0 degrees east and therefore imagery is not available at this current time. When the satellite is in its new position we will make the service available again.
Meteosat Second Generation
Whole Earth Disk - centered on Europe/Africa
| Channel | Image (with grid overlay) | Image (without grid overlay) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | small medium large | small medium large | visible 0.56 - 0.71 µm |
| 2 | small medium large | small medium large | visible 0.74 - 0.88 µm |
| 3 | small medium large | small medium large | near-infrared 1.50 - 1.78 µm |
| 4 | small medium large | small medium large | infrared 3.48 - 4.36 µm |
| 5 | small medium large | small medium large | water vapour 5.35 - 7.15 µm |
| 6 | small medium large | small medium large | water vapour 6.85 - 7.85 µm |
| 7 | small medium large | small medium large | infrared 8.3 - 9.1 µm |
| 8 | small medium large | small medium large | infrared 9.38 - 9.94 µm |
| 9 | small medium large | small medium large | infrared 9.8 - 11.8 µm |
| 10 | small medium large | small medium large | infrared 11 - 13 µm |
| 11 | small medium large | small medium large | infrared 12.4 - 14.4 µm |
| 12 (north) | small medium large | small medium large | visible 0.6 - 0.9 µm |
| 12 (south) | small medium large | small medium large | visible 0.6 - 0.9 µm |
| Colour | small medium large | small medium large | RGB 3,2,1 Composite |
IODC
Whole Earth Disk centered on the Indian Ocean
| Channel | Image (with grid overlay) | Image (without grid overlay) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | small medium large | small medium large | visible |
| 2 | small medium large | small medium large | infrared |
| 3 | small medium large | small medium large | water vapour |
MTSAT
Whole Earth Disk centered on Japan/Australia
| Channel | Image (with grid overlay) | Image (without grid overlay) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | small medium large | small medium large | visible |
| 4 | small medium large | small medium large | thermal |
| 6 | small medium large | small medium large | water vapour |
US GOES-WEST
Whole Earth Disk centered on Pacific Ocean
| Channel | Image (with grid overlay) | Image (without grid overlay) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | small medium large | small medium large | visible |
| 2 | small medium large | small medium large | visible |
| 3 | small medium large | small medium large | water vapour |
| 4 | small medium large | small medium large | thermal |
US GOES-EAST
Whole Earth Disk centered on the Americas
| Channel | Image (with grid overlay) | Image (without grid overlay) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | small medium large | small medium large | visible |
| 2 | small medium large | small medium large | visible |
| 4 | small medium large | small medium large | thermal |
| 6 | small medium large | small medium large | water vapour |
Polar-orbiting Satellites
- Channel 1: http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/abin/browseleaf/ch1.jpg (Visible)
- Channel 2: http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/abin/browseleaf/ch2.jpg (Visible)
- Channel 3: http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/abin/browseleaf/ch3.jpg (Infra-Red)
- Channel 4: http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/abin/browseleaf/ch4.jpg (Infra-Red)
- Channel 5: http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/abin/browseleaf/ch5.jpg (Infra-Red)
AVHRR / SeaWiFS / MODIS
You may choose from the latest AVHRR image, the latest SeaWiFS image, or the latest MODIS image by appending a scanner parameter, for example:
- Channel 4 AVHRR: http://www.sat.dundee.ac.uk/abin/browseleaf/ch4.jpg?s=avhrr
The scanner parameter may be avhrr, seawifs or modis.
Note that SeaWiFS quicklooks are restricted to specially-authorised users. See the SeaWiFS registration document for details.
Database search
Database search results can be bookmarked, including any options such as required location and cloud cover. The URL (web address) normally includes an explicit range of dates but the search tool can also be queried for the most recent passes using a parameter called "HoursAgo". For example to find the AVHRR passes received within the last 24 hours:
Latest AVHRR passes (last 24 hours)
After performing a search simply remove the start and end parameters in the URL and replace them with the hoursago parameter.
