It's in a geostationary orbit at 140.7 degrees east, roughly in line with the east coast of Japan, and about 35 degrees west of the volcano, so it always has th

It's in a geostationary orbit at 140.7 degrees east, roughly in line with the east coast of Japan, and about 35 degrees west of the volcano, so it always has the volcano in view. It has an imaging sensor which continuously scans the whole visible disc of the earth, taking ten minutes to do so [1]. So, you get pictures of anything that happens, anywhere! [1] http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/jma-eng/satellite/news/himawari89/himawari89_leaflet.pdf http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/jma-eng/satellite/news/himawari89/h...