Data article: Full disk real-time Himawari-8/9 satellite AHI imagery from JAXA

Abstract

Satellite products are essential in many research fields. Geostationary satellite imagery is rapidly updating and offers vast multi-spectral data that is useful in applications such as gridded solar forecasting and resource assessment. However, there is a high-barrier to entry for researchers in obtaining and using satellite data. A new database from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) offers near-real-time Himawari-8/9 satellite imagery by Advanced Himawari Imagers (AHIs), for free, to researchers. Typically, this type of data has a high price point; hence, it is a good opportunity for scientific researchers to work in the real real-time operational space. We present a data article complete with a Python package that: (i) downloads full disk Himawari-8/9 AHI Himawari standard data from the JAXA Himawari Monitor P-Tree system, (ii) provides example scripts showing how the data can remapped, cropped, and stored appropriately, and (iii) gives examples how to visualize the data. The Python package can be found on the Python package index at https://pypi.org/project/ftp-himawari8-hsd/.