NASA's Atmospheric Waves Experiment, or AWE, was launched in November 2023 and mounted on the outside of the International Space Station. Its mission is to scan for atmospheric gravity waves, described as ripple-like patterns in the air generated by atmospheric disturbances such as violent thunderstorms, tornadoes, tsunamis, wind bursts over mountain ranges, and hurricanes.
Information on such disturbances are valuable in predicting how the waves can affect satellites, communication signals, and other technology.
The scans produced by AWE taken as Helene slammed into Florida's Panhandle were impressive, agency officials said Thursday in releasing some of its first publicly available images.
They revealed Helene produced "enormous swells in the atmosphere" roughly 55 miles above the ground, according to Ludger Scherliess, AWE's principal investigator at Utah State University.
"Like rings of water spreading from a drop in a pond, circular waves from Helene are seen billowing westward from Florida's northwest coast," he said.
The space agency said the scans confirmed that AWE "has the sensitivity to reveal the impacts hurricanes have on Earth's upper atmosphere."
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