NASA's GOES-16 Satellite Captures The Most Detailed Images Of Earth

Earth has never looked this stunning in the new set of NASA photos.

The most detailed images of the planet Earth were captured by NASA's Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) aboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-16 (GOES-16) -- the first of NASA's state of the art weather satellite group GOES-R.

Displaying the Earth's majestic clouds, deep blue oceans, chocolate lands and emerald green forests, the first set of photos was released by the space agency and the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Jan. 15.

"These images come from the most sophisticated technology ever flown in space to predict severe weather on Earth," said NOAA's Satellite and Information Service Director Stephen Volz in a statement. "The fantastically rich images provide us with our first glimpse of the impact GOES-16 will have on developing lifesaving forecasts."

According to The Telegraph, GOES-16 was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Nov. 19, 2016 to probe the planet's weather conditions. Sending back highly accurate data from 22,000 miles above the North America, the camera has captured high-definition images of the full-disc planet faster than ever before.

"The image is much more than a pretty picture, it is the future of weather observations and forecasting," Dr. Louis Uccellini, director of the NOAA National Weather Service, said in a statement. "As a result, forecasters can issue more accurate, timely, and reliable watches and warnings, and provide better information to emergency managers and other decision makers."

Also shown among the photos was the rising waning gibbous Moon taken across the Earth's surface at 1:07 p.m. EDT (06:07 p.m. GMT) on Jan. 15. With the use of some of the ABI camera's 16 channels, the planet's natural satellite also shows off its sparkling craters amid its rough surface.

First images from #GOES16 are out! The satellite, a @NOAA, @NASA partnership, uses the moon for calibration. https://t.co/nRpPKx4jWK pic.twitter.com/x5HZ1GWWOb

— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) January 23, 2017