TERRA satellite

Orbits

•T=100 minutes

•Repeat time/track separation

•Off nadir allowed?

•Swath width

•Ascending/Descending, day/night

•Stereo possible?

Forest fires, fall 2003

http://landsat7.usgs.gov/updates/06-27-03-anomaly.jpg

http://landsat7.usgs.gov/updates/06-27-03-anomaly.jpg

Satellite Resolution

•Spatial

•Spectral

•Radiometric

•Temporal

Whether noise is a nuisance or a signal may depend on whom you ask.

Physics Today, May 2003

S/N ratio

•Pixel size

•Part of spectrum

•Bandwidth

•Active/Passive

Aster

ASTER, CERES, MISR, MODIS,MOPITT

Figure 1: The demise of Landsat 7. Partial image of Railroad Valley, NV (Path 40, Row 33) showing pre-anomaly (top), post-anomaly without interpolation (middle), and post-anomaly with interpolation (bottom).

SLAR—side looking airborne radar

Same principals as side scan sonar

Contrast

0-255 gray scale possible

~30 we can differentiate

Use them most effectively

IR “Best”

How show?