• grue@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    “Spotted” is still also accurate. How do you think a satellite could measure anything, except by looking at it?

    • deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz
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      23 hours ago

      Because it’s click bait sensationalism.

      Emphasis mine;

      The NASA estimates are based on measurements taken between October 2025 and January 2026 by a powerful satellite known as NISAR, which can track real-time changes on the Earth’s surface and is a joint initiative between NASA and the Indian Space Research Organization.

      • grue@lemmy.world
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        18 hours ago

        NISAR

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NISAR_(satellite) :

        The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission is a joint project between NASA and ISRO to co-develop and launch an Earth observation satellite (EOS) equipped with dual-frequency synthetic aperture radar (SAR) in 2025. It will be the first radar imaging [emphasis added] satellite to use dual frequencies.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imaging_radar :

        Imaging radar is an application of radar which is used to create two-dimensional images, typically of landscapes. Imaging radar provides its light to illuminate an area on the ground and take a picture at radio wavelengths.

        It is, in a literal sense, “spotting” the subsidence using visual techniques, albeit at a lower EM frequency than what humans can see.

        • deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz
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          17 hours ago

          Sigh.

          If you are using a camera, what is doing the spotting (or more broadly observing)? You or the device?

          • grue@lemmy.world
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            17 hours ago

            Are you trying to suggest that there’s no such thing as “spotting” anything from a satellite unless a human astronaut is riding inside it?