Satellite Thermal Anomaly (Fire Detection)
A satellite thermal anomaly is a heat signature detected from orbit by NASA sensors — used to flag acute physical events such as a fire at an industrial facility.
NASA operates satellite sensors — VIIRS and MODIS — that detect heat signatures on the Earth’s surface and publish them through the Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS). Each detection is a point of unusual heat, or "thermal anomaly," most often from an active fire. Because the data is collected from orbit on a regular pass, it provides a near-real-time, independent read on acute physical events.
Why it is useful
A confirmed fire or sudden heat event at a known industrial site is a physical fact that can precede any company statement about it. Observing these signatures near mapped facilities is a way to flag acute disruptions from public data, rather than waiting for a press release.
How NEUTAUR uses it
NEUTAUR treats satellite thermal detections as an acute-disruption lens over facilities it can locate from public records. It reports the observation as a dated fact — not as an estimate of a company’s production or a forecast of its results.
Limits
- A detection confirms heat, not its cause — an anomaly is not automatically a damaging fire.
- Cloud cover and satellite pass timing can miss or delay events.
- Sensor resolution locates a region, not an exact machine or production line.
Data source
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS / MODIS)