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The Earth Observing Satellites Online Compendium makes it easy to find satellite data that fits your research or project needs. This comprehensive resource covers technical details for nearly 700 past, current and future land remote sensing satellites and their sensors. You can easily filter results by criteria such as launch date, spectral bands, and orbit type, among others. Each entry provides in-depth information about the satellite’s sensors, availability of data products, and links to the mission webpage.
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Remote sensing is the process of detecting and monitoring the physical characteristics of an area by measuring its reflected and emitted radiation at a distance (typically from satellite or aircraft). Special cameras collect remotely sensed images, which help researchers "sense" things about the Earth. Some examples are: Cameras on satellites and airplanes take images of large areas on the Earth's...
Radiometric resolution relates to how much information is perceived by a satellite’s sensor. While the human eye detects color, Landsat sensors measure energy reflecting or emitted from the earth and relay that information as an image to users in varying degrees of greyscale. The higher the radiometric resolution, the more shades of grey the user sees. Landsat data are characterized by digital...
Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 work as a satellite constellation. This means that these two nearly identical satellites work in tandem as a system. Each satellite circles the Earth every 16 days, with their two orbits offset by time so that every location on the planet is imaged every eight days. The satellite constellation of Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 is in a near-polar orbit on the Worldwide Reference...
Landsat data products held in the USGS archives can be searched and downloaded at no charge from a variety of sources. Visit Landsat Data Access for information about how Landsat data products can be downloaded individually or in bulk. Landsat imagery not found in the USGS archive might have been collected by one of the USGS International Cooperator ground stations, each of which are the primary...
In 2016, the USGS reorganized the Landsat archive into a tiered collection. This structure ensures that Landsat Level-1 products provide a consistent archive of known data quality to support time-series analyses and data “stacking”, while controlling continuous improvement of the archive and access to all data as they are acquired. Learn more: Landsat Collections Landsat Data Access
A large, round lake in Quebec, Canada, highlights the geography of an ancient impact crater. In the late Triassic Period, a 3 mile wide meteorite struck northern Pangea at over 30,000 miles per hour. The resulting crater is now 214 million years old, but the dramatic circular lake visible in 2024 Landsat imagery is a surprisingly recent feature.
A large, round lake in Quebec, Canada, highlights the geography of an ancient impact crater. In the late Triassic Period, a 3 mile wide meteorite struck northern Pangea at over 30,000 miles per hour. The resulting crater is now 214 million years old, but the dramatic circular lake visible in 2024 Landsat imagery is a surprisingly recent feature.
Western and Eastern region eVIIRS Remote Sensing Phenology Start of Season for 2023.
Western and Eastern region eVIIRS Remote Sensing Phenology Start of Season for 2023.
Ocean currents, and the sediments they transport, have constantly shifted the Cape Cod barrier islands over time. Some of the abrupt changes, however, can be linked directly to a storm.
Ocean currents, and the sediments they transport, have constantly shifted the Cape Cod barrier islands over time. Some of the abrupt changes, however, can be linked directly to a storm.
Using Military Remote Sensing Technology to Support Federal Civil Agency Science: Sunk Cost, Well Spent
By Paul M. Young, Director of the USGS National Civil Applications Center
Using Military Remote Sensing Technology to Support Federal Civil Agency Science: Sunk Cost, Well Spent
By Paul M. Young, Director of the USGS National Civil Applications Center
Working with the USGS and Pepperwood Preserve, Black Swift Technologies LLC deployed radiometers on a UAS, the Super Swift (S2).
Working with the USGS and Pepperwood Preserve, Black Swift Technologies LLC deployed radiometers on a UAS, the Super Swift (S2).
Information from satellite imagery helped to differentiate areas vulnerable to soil erosion from off-highway vehicle use. For this study we developed a “P-factor” by scaling ground measurements of soil compaction to vehicle disturbances mapped from aerial imagery.
Information from satellite imagery helped to differentiate areas vulnerable to soil erosion from off-highway vehicle use. For this study we developed a “P-factor” by scaling ground measurements of soil compaction to vehicle disturbances mapped from aerial imagery.
Zhuoting Wu, research ecologist at the USGS Western Geographic Science Center, explains how the USGS uses remote sensing technology to help Tribal communities better understand the effects of climate change.
Zhuoting Wu, research ecologist at the USGS Western Geographic Science Center, explains how the USGS uses remote sensing technology to help Tribal communities better understand the effects of climate change.
Land Remote Sensing Image of Mount St. Helens on May 22, 1983. The volcanic blast on May 18, 1980, devastated more than 150 square miles of forest within a few minutes. In this Landsat false-color images, forest appears as bright red interspersed with patches of logging. Snow appears white, and ash is gray.
Land Remote Sensing Image of Mount St. Helens on May 22, 1983. The volcanic blast on May 18, 1980, devastated more than 150 square miles of forest within a few minutes. In this Landsat false-color images, forest appears as bright red interspersed with patches of logging. Snow appears white, and ash is gray.
USGS scientist Bernard Hubbard conducting spectral measurements of soils and cover crops to ground truth satellite imagery being used to map soil erosion and runoff potential into the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
USGS scientist Bernard Hubbard conducting spectral measurements of soils and cover crops to ground truth satellite imagery being used to map soil erosion and runoff potential into the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
Remote sensing is the process of detecting and monitoring the physical characteristics of an area by measuring its reflected and emitted radiation at a distance (typically from satellite or aircraft). Special cameras collect remotely sensed images, which help researchers "sense" things about the Earth. Some examples are: Cameras on satellites and airplanes take images of large areas on the Earth's...
Radiometric resolution relates to how much information is perceived by a satellite’s sensor. While the human eye detects color, Landsat sensors measure energy reflecting or emitted from the earth and relay that information as an image to users in varying degrees of greyscale. The higher the radiometric resolution, the more shades of grey the user sees. Landsat data are characterized by digital...
Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 work as a satellite constellation. This means that these two nearly identical satellites work in tandem as a system. Each satellite circles the Earth every 16 days, with their two orbits offset by time so that every location on the planet is imaged every eight days. The satellite constellation of Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 is in a near-polar orbit on the Worldwide Reference...
Landsat data products held in the USGS archives can be searched and downloaded at no charge from a variety of sources. Visit Landsat Data Access for information about how Landsat data products can be downloaded individually or in bulk. Landsat imagery not found in the USGS archive might have been collected by one of the USGS International Cooperator ground stations, each of which are the primary...
In 2016, the USGS reorganized the Landsat archive into a tiered collection. This structure ensures that Landsat Level-1 products provide a consistent archive of known data quality to support time-series analyses and data “stacking”, while controlling continuous improvement of the archive and access to all data as they are acquired. Learn more: Landsat Collections Landsat Data Access
A large, round lake in Quebec, Canada, highlights the geography of an ancient impact crater. In the late Triassic Period, a 3 mile wide meteorite struck northern Pangea at over 30,000 miles per hour. The resulting crater is now 214 million years old, but the dramatic circular lake visible in 2024 Landsat imagery is a surprisingly recent feature.
A large, round lake in Quebec, Canada, highlights the geography of an ancient impact crater. In the late Triassic Period, a 3 mile wide meteorite struck northern Pangea at over 30,000 miles per hour. The resulting crater is now 214 million years old, but the dramatic circular lake visible in 2024 Landsat imagery is a surprisingly recent feature.
Western and Eastern region eVIIRS Remote Sensing Phenology Start of Season for 2023.
Western and Eastern region eVIIRS Remote Sensing Phenology Start of Season for 2023.
Ocean currents, and the sediments they transport, have constantly shifted the Cape Cod barrier islands over time. Some of the abrupt changes, however, can be linked directly to a storm.
Ocean currents, and the sediments they transport, have constantly shifted the Cape Cod barrier islands over time. Some of the abrupt changes, however, can be linked directly to a storm.
Using Military Remote Sensing Technology to Support Federal Civil Agency Science: Sunk Cost, Well Spent
By Paul M. Young, Director of the USGS National Civil Applications Center
Using Military Remote Sensing Technology to Support Federal Civil Agency Science: Sunk Cost, Well Spent
By Paul M. Young, Director of the USGS National Civil Applications Center
Working with the USGS and Pepperwood Preserve, Black Swift Technologies LLC deployed radiometers on a UAS, the Super Swift (S2).
Working with the USGS and Pepperwood Preserve, Black Swift Technologies LLC deployed radiometers on a UAS, the Super Swift (S2).
Information from satellite imagery helped to differentiate areas vulnerable to soil erosion from off-highway vehicle use. For this study we developed a “P-factor” by scaling ground measurements of soil compaction to vehicle disturbances mapped from aerial imagery.
Information from satellite imagery helped to differentiate areas vulnerable to soil erosion from off-highway vehicle use. For this study we developed a “P-factor” by scaling ground measurements of soil compaction to vehicle disturbances mapped from aerial imagery.
Zhuoting Wu, research ecologist at the USGS Western Geographic Science Center, explains how the USGS uses remote sensing technology to help Tribal communities better understand the effects of climate change.
Zhuoting Wu, research ecologist at the USGS Western Geographic Science Center, explains how the USGS uses remote sensing technology to help Tribal communities better understand the effects of climate change.
Land Remote Sensing Image of Mount St. Helens on May 22, 1983. The volcanic blast on May 18, 1980, devastated more than 150 square miles of forest within a few minutes. In this Landsat false-color images, forest appears as bright red interspersed with patches of logging. Snow appears white, and ash is gray.
Land Remote Sensing Image of Mount St. Helens on May 22, 1983. The volcanic blast on May 18, 1980, devastated more than 150 square miles of forest within a few minutes. In this Landsat false-color images, forest appears as bright red interspersed with patches of logging. Snow appears white, and ash is gray.
USGS scientist Bernard Hubbard conducting spectral measurements of soils and cover crops to ground truth satellite imagery being used to map soil erosion and runoff potential into the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
USGS scientist Bernard Hubbard conducting spectral measurements of soils and cover crops to ground truth satellite imagery being used to map soil erosion and runoff potential into the Chesapeake Bay watershed.