By Mary O’KEEFE

Americans are spoiled in so many ways but, for the purpose of this article, I will be focusing on our expectation of weather prediction.

We no longer have to trust our aching joints, bugs or “the rainmaker” ­– all we have to do is see what the weather satellites are sharing. And for that we need to thank American ingenuity and the U.S. – Soviet space race.

It all began in 1957 when the former Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to be successfully placed in orbit around the Earth. And so started the “anything you can do we can do better” U.S. space projects including Explorer 1, which launched in 1958.

Then, on April 1,1960, NASA launched the Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS-1), the world’s first successful weather satellite. It weighed about 270 pounds and carried two television cameras and two video recorders. The satellite provided weather forecasters their first-ever view of cloud formations as they developed around the globe, according to NOAA (National Oceanic Atmosphere Agency).

“Up to that point, we were very local in our understanding and our interpretation of weather phenomena,” stated Stephen Volz, Ph.D., assistant administrator of NOAA Satellite and Information Service, in a 2020 article.

TIROS-1 orbited 450 miles above Earth and communicated with two command and data acquisition stations. When the satellite was in range of a station and the data was read out, the images were recorded on 35-mm film for making prints, according to NOAA.

The satellite only operated for 78 days but sent back more than 19,000 usable photos and ushered in the new age of weather observing satellites. This was followed by several satellites launched in the 1970s and, in the early 2000s, NASA and its international partners began the A-train of satellites. These were several Earth-observing satellites that closely followed one another along the same, or similar, orbital “tracks.” Satellites Aqua and Aura started this train in 2002 and 2004, which is the “A” part of the train. The purpose of the instruments on these satellites were and are used to improve knowledge of clouds, aerosols, atmospheric chemistry and other elements critical for understanding Earth’s environment and changing climate, according to NASA.

There have been many more satellites launched and now orbiting the Earth; of course, not all are for weather or Earth science. But for us to get those amazing photos of developing hurricanes we must have satellites … and there’s the rub.

There is no doubt having these satellites are of value, from warning us of extreme weather or gathering data on climate change to even, at the simplest level, letting us know if we need to cover our plants due to expected frost or grab our umbrella though the sun is shining. But with over 4,500 satellites currently orbiting the Earth how many is too many? It took some time for the first few satellites to be launched and placed in orbit followed by a substantial increase in launchings and orbiting satellites.

According to a Science News article this year, more than 100,000 additional satellites have been proposed with nearly 40,000 proposed just in November 2021 to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.

So here it is. We need, and want, the information that satellites bring to us but at what costs? If this trend that started with a hopeful vision is to continue into the future, when we look up at the night sky what twinkles back will be a mechanical twinkle; and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Satellite” just doesn’t generate the same feeling.

Our recent rains were much needed although the downpour was intense at times.

The total rainfall for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Pasadena was 3.14 inches and at the Eagle Rock Reservoir was 2.92 inches, according to David Sweet, meteorologist at NOAA Oxnard.

Locally, on Tuesday the Crescenta Valley area received only 1.13 inches, according to the weather monitor at Rosemont Middle School.

“These rainfall [totals] are pretty high and some areas had record rainfall,” Sweet said.

He added this storm happened early in the season and its type is more commonly seen in January and February.

“It was a relatively strong storm,” he said. “We are looking drier for the future.”

He added we can expect some Santa Ana winds on Friday that may include a wind advisory but most likely the advisory would only be for the San Fernando Valley. Winds could gust up to 40 miles per hour. Over the weekend an “inside slider” is expected, which is a baseball term used to described a weather system that slides toward our area from Nevada and tends to follow a dry track with gusting winds.