Go is a board game that has been played for more than 2000 years. It combines strategy, tactics, and calculation. The game is played with black and white stones on a 19 x 19 square board, which is called a goban. In addition to the board, a player requires gobukawa (a flat cloth), which is used for playing and displaying the stones. A goban is often decorated with a design, such as dragons and flowers.
The most important concepts in Go are territory, attack, and defense. The main purpose of a player is to expand his or her territory, capture the opponent’s weak groups, and ultimately kill the opposing group. The complexities of Go are found in the rules regarding life and death, capturing races (semeai), and nakadai (area of influence).
A goban is not a perfect rectangle; there is a 15:14 ratio in length to width. The ratio is important because it creates a perspective that makes the board appear larger when viewed from the player’s position. A larger board also allows the player to more easily play a kozugawa, or defensive position.
In the beginning, a beginner must learn how to read the goban. This includes learning the symbols and understanding their meaning. Once these basics are mastered, the student can begin playing the game. Once a player has mastered the basics, the next step is to understand the game’s strategy.
Go has a long history in East Asia. In the 20th century, it became popular in the West as well. A number of famous Western players have attained high ranks in international competitions.
The GOES-R Series
The Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on the GOES-R satellites will improve imaging capability for severe weather, aviation, natural hazards, and the atmosphere, ocean, and cryosphere. The expected scan mode will allow for CONUS and mesoscale sector imagery every 15 minutes, automatically interleaved with full-disk scanning. In addition, the ABI will have spectral bands that are not available on the current GOES imagers.
The GOES-R satellites are in a geosynchronous orbit, which means they move at the same speed as Earth rotates and are directly above the equator. This unique position makes it possible to monitor Earth’s weather at very fine time and space scales. During the daytime, GOES-R satellites provide images of Earth’s surface and its clouds using visible light imaging. The brightness of the images depends on how much sunlight is reflected off the ground, and snow, ice, and light-colored sand reflect the most sunlight. Meteorologists use these visible light images to identify cloud type and movement, as well as the location of developing severe weather. At night, GOES-R satellites collect thermal infrared radiation (radiation that warms objects). The longer wavelengths of this type of radiation are absorbed by Earth’s atmosphere, but the shorter wavelengths can reach the satellites. These observations help meteorologists determine air temperature, water vapor, and other atmospheric constituents. They are especially useful in detecting low-level cloud cover and monitoring storm development.