First color observation of Himawari "No. 8" to be launched on the 7th of next month Kagoshima Prefecture/2014

The Himawari-8 was shown to the press at 2:43 p.m. on September 3, 2014 at the Tanegashima Space Center in Minami-Tanegi-cho, Kagoshima Prefecture. The Japan Meteorological Agency and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation unveiled the new weather satellite Himawari-8 to the press on September 3 at the Tanegashima Space Center in Minami-Tanegi-cho, Kagoshima Prefecture. 　Himawari-8 is about 8 meters long and weighs about 1.3 tons. It is the successor to Himawari-7, which is currently in operation, and will be the first geostationary meteorological satellite to provide color images. 　While it takes 30 minutes for the No. 7 to take images of the entire area visible from the satellite, the No. 8 can do so in 10 minutes. The area around Japan can be imaged every two and a half minutes, enabling the satellite to quickly capture typhoons and cumulonimbus clouds that bring heavy rainfall. The color images will also enable a detailed understanding of the distribution of yellow sand and volcanic ash, which have been difficult to distinguish from clouds.