The Operational Land Imager’s Band 9 1.360-1.390 µm on Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 detects thin, high-altitude clouds composed of ice crystals that might not be visible in other spectral bands. In Band 9, cirrus clouds appear bright while most land surfaces appear dark through an otherwise cloud-free atmosphere containing water vapor.
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The Operational Land Imager Band 1 (0.433-0.453 µm) on Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 is useful for imaging shallow water and tracking fine atmospheric particles like dust and smoke. Band 1 reflects blues and violets, where light is scattered by dust, smoke, and water particles in the air. Collecting data with enough sensitivity at this spectrum is difficult. Since water absorbs and scatters light...
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Can Landsat Collection Real-Time scenes be used in my research?
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What are the acquisition schedules for the Landsat satellites?
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- FAQ
How is the Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 Coastal/Aerosol Band 1 used?
The Operational Land Imager Band 1 (0.433-0.453 µm) on Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 is useful for imaging shallow water and tracking fine atmospheric particles like dust and smoke. Band 1 reflects blues and violets, where light is scattered by dust, smoke, and water particles in the air. Collecting data with enough sensitivity at this spectrum is difficult. Since water absorbs and scatters light...
What are the best Landsat spectral bands for use in my research?
The Spectral Characteristics Viewer is an interactive tool that can be used to visualize how the bands, or channels, of different satellite sensors measure the intensity of the many wavelengths (colors) of light. This is also known as the relative spectral response (RSR). By overlaying the spectral curves from different features (spectra), one can determine which bands of the selected sensor will...
Why do Landsat 7 Level-1 products contain two thermal bands?
Landsat 7 acquires thermal data in two bands from one detector in both high (Band 6H) and low (Band 6L) gain. The difference in gain settings is important to different types of studies (i.e., clouds vs. deserts). Aside from the resolution differences and saturation on the high and low ends, the two bands provide the same Digital Numbers (DN) for every pixel. FILE_NAME_BAND_6_VCID_1 (band 61 or 6L)...
Can Landsat Collection Real-Time scenes be used in my research?
Landsat Collections Real-Time (RT) data is provided within 12 hours of acquisition in support of the International Charter to help mitigate the effects of disasters on human life and property. The RT tier contains data received from Landsat 8 immediately after acquisition. Estimated radiometric and geometric calibration parameters are applied to these scenes. When final radiometric and geometric...
How do I search for and download Landsat data?
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...
How is the percentage of cloud cover calculated in a Landsat scene?
The C Function of Mask (CFMask) algorithm is used in Landsat Collection 1 Level-1 data processing. This algorithm provides a full-image “Scene Cloud Cover” estimation of the percentage of cloud cover calculated over an entire Landsat scene. Land Cloud Cover, which is also included, is determined by calculating the percentage of clouds over land-only pixels in a scene using a mask that...
How do I rescale Landsat Level-1 digital numbers to reflectance, radiance, and brightness temperature?
Landsat Level-1 data can be rescaled to the top of atmosphere (TOA) reflectance and/or radiance using radiometric rescaling coefficients provided in the metadata file (MTL.txt) that is delivered with the Landsat Level-1 product. The MTL file also contains the thermal constants needed to convert thermal band data to TOA brightness temperature (BT). Formulas for these conversions are at Using the...
What are the acquisition schedules for the Landsat satellites?
The Landsat 8 and Landsat 9 satellites orbit the Earth at an altitude of 705 kilometers (438 miles) in a 185-kilometer (115-mile) swath, moving from north to south over the sunlit side of the Earth in a sun synchronous orbit, following the World Reference System (WRS-2). Each satellite makes a complete orbit every 99 minutes, completes about 14 full orbits each day, and crosses every point on...
What are the band designations for the Landsat satellites?
The sensors aboard each of the Landsat satellites were designed to acquire data in different ranges of frequencies along the electromagnetic spectrum (View Bandpass Wavelengths for all Landsat Sensors). The Multispectral Scanner (MSS) carried on Landsat 1,2,3,4 and 5 collected data in four ranges (bands); the Thematic Mapper (TM) sensor on Landsat 4 and Landsat 5 included those found on earlier...
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