Infrared Sounder on Suomi NPP Starts its Mission

Data is flowing in from the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) instrument aboard NASA's newest Earth-observing satellite, the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP). This image is a composite of three days of CrIS data from January 21, 23 and 25, 2012. The orange colors represent very warm sea surface temperatures, while magenta represents both very cold temperatures as well as high-altitude cloud tops. Credit: NASA/NOAA