Every Pixel - Landsat's Sensors
Detailed Description
On board Landsat 8 are two sensors that capture data about earth's surface. Here is an explanation of the instruments that capture every pixel.
Details
Date Taken:
Length: 00:01:37
Location Taken: Sioux Falls, SD, US
Transcript
Landsat 8 is equipped with
two unique sensors that
give a detailed look
at our planet.
Unlike a normal camera
that sees the world in
combinations of red,
green and blue,
Landsat see’s earth
through 11 spectral bands.
And instead of taking an
entire image at once,
Landsat 8 sensors continuously
record data one line at a time.
The Operational Land Imager
uses 14 sensor chip assemblies
with over 70,000 detectors
across the 9 spectral bands
it collects. These bands detect
aerosols, visible color and
infrared light. Each detector
is focused to a 30 meter
spot of earth’s surface.
This “pushbroom” sensor takes
synchronized readings from every
detector, creating a horizontal
line of data that translates to
a 185 kilometer swath of earth.
This repeats 236 times every second.
Landsat’s second instrument,
the Thermal InfraRed Sensor
collects 2 additional spectral
bands sensitive to temperature.
TIRS detectors are split
between 3 assemblies.
Their 100 meter resolution
captures a swath 185 km wide.
Readings from both sensors
stream to Landsat’s recording
electronics, along with ancillary
data, like GPS coordinates,
satellite orientation and
calibration data, key pieces
of image processing that
will happen later.