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How does Terra take a global snapshot?
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Terra circles about the Earth, very nearly from pole to pole, once every 98 minutes. This animation shows MODIS' viewing swath width of 2,330 km (about 1,445 miles). Once every one to two days, these swaths may be digitally "stitched together" into a snapshot of our entire planet. The CERES sensor will also make global snapshots every day, while MOPITT has global coverage roughly every 5 days, MISR will produce global images every nine days, and ASTER will construct a detailed and very high-resolution global image over a 5-year period.
