Go is one of the most popular board games in the world. It is a centuries-old game with a long history of use in Asia. It is believed to have originated in China at least 2500 – 4000 years ago. It became an important part of Chinese culture and has spread to other parts of the world through trade and other contact.
Go has many different rules and strategies, which have contributed to its popularity. It is played by two or more players, and the aim is to capture all of your opponent’s territory by controlling all of the points on the board. In order to do this, you must move your pieces around the board, occupying more and more spaces as you progress. The more territory you have, the stronger your position is.
The game has been adapted for television and film. In addition, there are a number of go clubs throughout the US, and several tournaments are held each year.
GOES (Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites) is the National Weather Service’s system of geostationary satellites that provide real-time imagery and data on atmospheric conditions and solar activity over the Western Hemisphere. There are currently three GOES satellites in operation: GOES-10 (W), GOES-11 (E) and GOES-12 (W).
The first GOES satellite was launched on May 5, 1984 from the Space Shuttle Challenger. It was the first satellite dedicated to climate research, and provided meteorologists with their first near-real-time look at atmospheric conditions from a fixed location. GOES-1 was spin-stabilized and only viewed the Earth about 10 percent of the time, but the ability to view a stationary satellite gave forecasters a new level of accuracy in their weather predictions.
Each of the five GOES spacecraft is equipped with a suite of sensors that enable it to perform a variety of tasks. These include imaging clouds, monitoring the vertical structure of the atmosphere, and sounding the atmospheric temperature and water vapor to help track severe local storms, hurricanes and other large-scale phenomena as they develop.
The GOES-11 and 12 spacecraft are both equipped with the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) and the Hydrometeorological Processor for Earth Sensors (HEPAD). ABI views Earth with three times more spectral channels, four times more resolution, and five times faster scanning than previous GOES satellites. HEPAD monitors the high energy protons and alpha particles produced by solar flares and provides a continuous measurement of galactic cosmic rays (Cerenkov radiation). This information allows NOAA scientists to issue warnings when the Sun’s activities might interfere with communications satellites, high-altitude airlines or power grids on Earth. GOES-12 also includes the Solar X-ray Imager (SXI) that detects and tracks solar flares and X-ray emissions in the Sun’s corona.