The GOES (GEOstationary Operational Environmental Satellite) system is an integrated set of satellites and ground systems that provide a continuous stream of environmental data for weather forecasting, severe storm tracking, and meteorology research. The GOES series of satellites and their ground systems are operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service division.

GOES satellites orbit the Earth in geosynchronous orbit about 22,300 miles above the equator. This allows them to hover over the same geographic area, day and night, at a rate that matches the Earth’s rotation. The GOES systems monitor Earth’s atmosphere, land, and oceans in real-time, and provide vital information for weather forecasting, severe storm tracking, air quality monitoring, and climate analysis.

Unlike many other satellite systems that use a combination of different satellites and antennae to obtain a wide range of information, GOES satellites each carry its own payload of instruments to gather specific kinds of data. The primary GOES satellite instruments are the Imager and the Sounder. The Imager provides high-resolution data of Earth’s surface and atmosphere, including cloud top temperature and water vapor, and the Sounder provides vertical atmospheric temperature and moisture profile information. The Solar X-ray Imager on the GOES-13 satellite and its subsequent spacecrafts, along with the GOES-14 and -16 satellites, adds an important capability to the GOES system by providing near real-time observations of the Sun’s X-ray emissions. These observations are used by NOAA/NESDIS to generate and disseminate space weather warnings, protecting spaceborne and ground-based assets from the effects of dangerously intense solar activity.

The art of goes has a long history in Asia, and in Chinese culture in particular. Confucius, the ancient Chinese philosopher, regarded the game as one of the Four Accomplishments that must be mastered by a Chinese gentleman, alongside calligraphy, painting, and playing the lute. It also became a popular pastime among Japanese samurai, as illustrated in works of art dating from the 1300s through to the 1600s.

Go players in North America are part of a small, tight-knit community that generally greets newcomers as if they were long-lost family members. There are over 100 active chapters of the American Go Association in the U.S., and the AGA holds several annual world championships at both the amateur and professional level. In addition, the AGA selects U.S. representatives to the World Amateur and Women’s Go Championships sponsored by the International Go Federation, as well as for the IGF-sponsored World Youth Goe Championship. The earliest known go players in North America were probably Chinese workers toiling on the transcontinental railroads in the mid-1800s, but the game did not gain much attention until the AGA was established in 1965. Today, the AGA has more than 2000 members, and offers an excellent way to meet other people interested in the game of go. The Bob High Memorial Library at the AGA contains an extensive collection of resources pertaining to the history and culture of the game.