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The white domes on the left cover satellite dishes on board USCGC Healy.

The white domes on the left cover satellite dishes on board USCGC Healy.
The white domes on the left cover satellite dishes on board USCGC Healy.
The white domes on the left cover satellite dishes on board USCGC Healy.
The white domes on the left cover satellite dishes on board USCGC Healy.
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(62°11′24″N, 176°1′57″W)
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348176
Linder, Christopher L.
The white domes on the left cover satellite dishes on board USCGC Healy.
Still Image
04/15/2009
graphics/PD5_dailys/cl_20090415005801.jpg
Caption from Polar Discovery: The high points of the ship are dotted with huge white domes covering satellite dishes. Our Internet access is through Inmarsat, one of two satellite communication the ship uses. Hassilev has the system set up to route e-mails differently depending on size. These eight pictures will queue up to get off the ship through Inmarsat. It could take them half an hour to reach our team in Woods Hole. Meanwhile, small text e-mails skip that queue, zinging to shore instantly on a separate satellite network, Iridium. The white domes are just weather coverings; under each one is a satellite dish with motors to move it.
Image of The Day caption:
Even in the far north, scientists on research vessels maintain some, limited contact with home via email. This view from the bridge of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy shows the ship's two satellite domes that transmit data and messages back to shore. During this particular cruise to the Bering Sea, scientists kept in regular contact via the Polar Discovery website about their daily activities and findings. Photos like this one were queued up to transmit at set intervals each day over the Inmarsat network. Smaller text-only messages went out almost instantly via the Iridium network.
Photo by Chris Linder
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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