SATELLITE DATA DOWNLOAD

Broken links are annoying.

In order to better keep track of the constantly changing download URLs of the various satellite data referenced in this blog, this page has been created to host the most recent known working server locations.

[UPDATE: May 29, 2026] Added DSCOVR EPIC data download information.
[UPDATE: June 11, 2026] Added Chollian-2A data download information.

NOAA GOES-R SERIES

For full-disk images in pseudo-true color, these are the two most useful products:

Product: ABI-L1b-RadF
Format: Individual bands; 10848 x 10848 resolution or higher.

Product: ABI-L2-MCMIPF
Format: Combined bands; 5424 x 5424 resolution.

GOES-16 (EAST) ABI Download — 2017-2025:

https://noaa-goes16.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html#ABI-L1b-RadF/
https://noaa-goes16.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html#ABI-L2-MCMIPF/

GOES-17 (WEST) ABI Download — 2018-2023:

https://noaa-goes17.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html#ABI-L1b-RadF/
https://noaa-goes17.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html#ABI-L2-MCMIPF/

GOES-18 (WEST) ABI Download — 2022-Present:

https://noaa-goes18.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html#ABI-L1b-RadF/
https://noaa-goes18.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html#ABI-L2-MCMIPF/

GOES-19 (EAST) ABI Download — 2024-Present:

https://noaa-goes19.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html#ABI-L1b-RadF/
https://noaa-goes19.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html#ABI-L2-MCMIPF/

NOTES:

Pseudo-true color requires visible bands C01 (blue), C02 (red), and C03 (near-infrared). For the individual full-resolution radiance bands, here are example files for September 22, 2025 at 16:20 UTC (autumn equinox, ~local solar noon):

OR_ABI-L1b-RadF-M6C01_G19_s20252651620209_e20252651629517_c20252651629572.nc (Band C01, 10848 x 10848)
OR_ABI-L1b-RadF-M6C02_G19_s20252651620209_e20252651629517_c20252651629561.nc (Band C02, 21696 x 21696)
OR_ABI-L1b-RadF-M6C03_G19_s20252651620209_e20252651629517_c20252651629557.nc (Band C03, 10848 x 10848)

Combined bands contain all 16 available bands in a single file. Here is the example file for the same date:

OR_ABI-L2-MCMIPF-M6_G19_s20252651620209_e20252651629523_c20252651629598.nc (5424 x 5424)

The two products have different levels of processing and must be handled differently in Python. For details, refer to the respective Python script pages (links to come).

This is what the current GOES pseudo true-color script produces, using the above ABI-L2-MCMIPF product:

GOES-19 at approximately solar noon on the 2025 autumnal equinox. Processed by the author. No retouching was done to the image, though it probably needs it.

HIMAWARI-8/9

Catalogue: Bureau of Meteorology Satellite Observations (ra22)
Format: Individual bands; 11000 x 11000 resolution or higher.

Himawari-8 AHI Download — 2015-2026:

https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/ra22/satellite-products/arc/obs/himawari-ahi/fldk/latest/catalog.html

Himawari-9 AHI Download — 2026-Present:

https://thredds.nci.org.au/thredds/catalog/ra22/satellite-products/nrt/obs/himawari-ahi/fldk/latest/catalog.html

NOTES:

Like GOES radiance products, Himawari full-disk bands come as individual files. For near true-color, visible bands B01 (blue), B02 (green), B03 (red), and B04 (near-infrared) are required. Despite having a greenish band, the near-infrared band is still necessary to boost the chlorophyll and soil signal in it.

Here are example Himawari-9 bands for September 22, 2025 at 02:30 UTC (autumn equinox, ~local solar noon):

20250922023000-P1S-ABOM_OBS_B01-PRJ_GEOS141_1000-HIMAWARI9-AHI.nc (Band B01, 11000 x 11000)
20250922023000-P1S-ABOM_OBS_B02-PRJ_GEOS141_1000-HIMAWARI9-AHI.nc (Band B02, 11000 x 11000)
20250922023000-P1S-ABOM_OBS_B03-PRJ_GEOS141_500-HIMAWARI9-AHI.nc (Band B03, 22000 x 22000)
20250922023000-P1S-ABOM_OBS_B04-PRJ_GEOS141_1000-HIMAWARI9-AHI.nc (Band B04, 11000 x 11000)

Here is a preview as produced by the current Python script:

September 22, 2025 equinox from Himawari-9. Credit: JMA/ABOM. Processed by the author.

METEOSAT-12

Product: FCI Level 1c Normal Resolution Image Data - MTG - 0 degree
Format: Combined bands; up to 11136 x 11136 resolution.

Meteosat-12 FCI Download — 2024-Present:

https://user.eumetsat.int/catalogue/EO:EUM:DAT:0662/overview

NOTES:

EUMETSAT requires an account and license to download and use its products. Both are available in free, easy to obtain versions.

Meteosat-12 is similar to Himawari in that that it has an imperfect green band for near true-color images (requiring the same tweaks). The blue band is actually closer to ideal than the blue band Himawari uses. Unlike the other platforms though, the data is broken up into 40 chunks in a single ZIP archive that have to be stitched together. In Python, the Satpy library can handle this.

Here is an example Meteosat-12 *filename* (no direct link is possible) for September 22, 2025 at 12:00 UTC (autumn equinox, local solar noon):

W_XX-EUMETSAT-Darmstadt,IMG+SAT,MTI1+FCI-1C-RRAD-FDHSI-FD--x-x---x_C_EUMT_20250922120344_IDPFI_OPE_20250922120007_20250922120935_N__O_0073_0000.zip (All bands, up to 11136 x 11136)

For an actual test granule without an account, there is a free tutorial with a FCI file download link in the description. Save the FDHSI_example.zip archive to your computer. I will be posting a Python script to show how to generate a near true-color full disk example from it.

Here is a preview of what the test granule will look like:

Earth as imaged by Meteosat-12 on January 31, 2024. Credit: EUMETSAT. Processed by the author.

All three satellite examples are probably much too dark. That's something that can easily be adjusted to preference though.

ADDENDUM: DSCOVR EPIC

The Level 1A product is unrectified but does not contain a limb mask. Level 1B is rectified and masked. The current DSCOVR Python script can combine the two to restore the limb appearance but it requires both granules.

Product: DSCOVR EPIC Level 1A Version 4
Format: Combined bands; 2048 x 2048 resolution.

Product: DSCOVR EPIC Level 1B Version 4
Format: Combined bands; 2048 x 2048 resolution.

DSCOVR EPIC Download — 2015-Present:

https://search.earthdata.nasa.gov/search?fps0=DSCOVR

NOTES:

Free registration with NASA EOSDIS is required to download the data.

ADDENDUM DEUX: CHOLLIAN-2A

Product: GK2A AMI Level‑1B
Format: Individual bands; 11000 x 11000 resolution or higher.

Chollian-2A AMI Download — 2023-Present:

https://noaa-gk2a-pds.s3.amazonaws.com/index.html#AMI/L1B/FD/

NOTES:

South Korea has its own version of the AHI imager used by Himawari, called the Advanced Meteological Imager (AMI), on its meteorological platform, GEO-KOMPSAT-2A. Its visible and near-infrared "veggie" bands are nearly identical, but I had to reduce the strength of the NIR blend into the green channel to produce the same boost to the vegetation and soil signal. It also required the SatPy library to calibrate band reflectance. Without it, there was a strong color cast caused by bands having different reflectance values.

Full-disk (FD) and local area (LA) files are hosted on Amazon AWS S3 Explorer courtesy of NOAA. I just found out about this satellite recently despite it being in orbit since 2018. If I find where older data files are hosted I will update this post.

Here are example Chollian-2A bands for September 22, 2025 at 03:20 UTC (autumn equinox, ~local solar noon):

gk2a_ami_le1b_vi004_fd010ge_202509220320.nc (Band VIS004, 11000 x 11000)
gk2a_ami_le1b_vi005_fd010ge_202509220320.nc (Band VIS005, 11000 x 11000)
gk2a_ami_le1b_vi006_fd010ge_202509220320.nc (Band VIS006, 22000 x 22000)
gk2a_ami_le1b_vi008_fd010ge_202509220320.nc (Band VIS008, 11000 x 11000)

Here is a preview using an experimental Python script that applies a non-uniform saturation boost: