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What are Keep Out Zones?
Keep-Out-Zone (KOZ) is another term related to eclipse season operations. The GOES imager and sounder instruments have temperature constraints that prevent them from scanning an area too close to the sun. If the GOES imager or sounder is allowed to scan an area near the sun, they could potentially overheat and become permanently damaged. Prior to and following each eclipse season as the sun is "close" to the Earth disk, image regions in the proximity of the sun will be deleted.
Solar intrusions are only a concern for GOES during the eclipse seasons. During a 48-day eclipse season as the sun moves from North-to-South (Autumnal Equinox) and South-to-North (Vernal Equinox), it will move closer to the Earth sensor chord, eventually entering the chord's field-of-view.