NASA released test scans from TEMPO, a new Earth-orbiting instrument that measures pollution levels. It takes hourly scans of North America, tracking air pollutant levels down to the neighborhood. NASA has now revealed the first images from a new instrument launched alongside the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory that can track pollution levels with unprecedented precision. Thanks to the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution instrument, called TEMPO, NASA can now track air pollution across North America with enough detail to pinpoint pollutant levels in exact neighborhoods, according to a NASA press release. Credits: Kel Elkins, Trent Schindler, and Cindy Starr/NASA's Scientific Visualization StudioTEMPO will be especially helpful for improving studies on rush-hour traffic pollution, according to researchers.

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Persons: Kel Elkins, Trent Schindler, Cindy Starr, Kelly Chance, Chance, Kevin Daugherty Organizations: NASA, Service, Smithsonian Astrophysical, Northeast, SpaceX Locations: America, Wall, Silicon, North America, Northeast United States, Angeles, Las Vegas, United States