They also trap heat from the Earth's surface, Herman said, so changes in cloud cover affect the heat balance of the planet.īut the primary scientific goal of DSCOVR is to monitor the constant stream of charged particles that fly from the sun, known as the solar wind. One of EPIC's scientific goals is to track the motion of clouds, which reflect light from the sun and keep the planet cool.
The spacecraft also records the sun rising and setting about 13 times each day from itsthe satellite's perspective. The video slows down briefly to show the moon's shadow racing across Earth in March 2016, during a total solar eclipse.
