Observations from space offer a powerful tool for the study of the interaction between clouds and radiation and for the retrieval of cloud properties. In particular, infrared (IR) and microwave (MW) observations offer complementary features with respect to clouds, as IR wavelengths are very sensitive to cloud top but tend to be obscured by thick clouds, while MW wavelengths are relative insensitive to cloud top but carry information on the whole cloud deck.
To do that, they carry a wide range of instruments on board and we’ve talked about their benefits many times – but, you might wonder, what do these instruments actually look like?