EO·Atlas
Geostationary Lightning Mapper
Compiled from public sources on 2026-06-15. Not independently verified by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
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GOES-R Series single-channel near-infrared optical transient detector for continuous lightning mapping from geostationary orbit.
The Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) is a single-band near-infrared optical transient detector built by Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center (Palo Alto, CA) for NOAA's GOES-R satellite series.[1] It operates continuously from geostationary orbit, providing real-time detection of total lightning activity across the Americas and adjacent ocean areas.[1]
GLM detects lightning flashes by sensing the brief optical pulses they produce in the near-infrared, using a single spectral channel centred at the 777.4 nm oxygen triplet emission line.[2] The instrument achieves a total flash detection efficiency of 70 to 90 percent.[2] It detects both cloud-to-ground and intra-cloud lightning events. Its field of view spans the full Earth disk visible from geostationary orbit at roughly 8 km spatial resolution.[1]
Flown on GOES-16, GOES-17, GOES-18, and GOES-19, GLM provides continuous lightning observations that support severe weather nowcasting, convective initiation tracking, and aviation safety applications.[3]
Compositional position
- [1]GOES-R Series Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM) - NOAAagency doc2026-06-15
- [2]NOAA NESDIS Geostationary Lightning Mapperagency doc2026-06-15
- [3]GOES-R Series data products overviewagency doc2026-06-15