Calibration of the Eighth Geostationary Observational Environmental Satellite ( GOES-8 ) Imager Visible Sensor

The GOES-8/Imager has provided scientifically valuable imagery since its launch in April of 1994. However, without an onboard calibration source most research applications involving its data have been limited to qualitative analysis of the imagery. Presented herein is a review of previous quantiative work, including the prelaunch calibration information, and results of a new calibration effort that compares GOES-8/Imager raw counts clear ocean scenes to theoretical satellite-detected radiance values from a radiative transfer model.