Landsat Satellite
Landsat Satellite
AI Overview
Landsat is a polar-orbiting satellite at an altitude of approximately (around 22,500 miles or 35,786 km) above Earth, allowing it to capture imagery of the entire Earth's surface over time as it passes over different areas on a 16-day cycle.
Landsat offers high-ground clarity (resolution) typically about 98 feet (30 meter) for optical and thermal infrared bands and is excellent for detailed land surface analysis and tracking changes over time.
· Access to Landsat imagery is available as a free service through Google Earth and Google Earth Pro that can be accessed on the web or downloaded. Google Earth provides several useful features including a Weather tab that allows users to visually monitor weather at a global scale.
In contrast, GOES orbits at a much higher altitude (around 22,500 miles or 35,786 km) in a geostationary orbit above the equator, meaning it remains fixed over a particular area of Earth and provides continuous coverage. Its higher altitude inherently limits its ground detail with visible and near-infrared bands at about half a mile (1 km) and infrared bands at about 1.2-mile (2 km).
GOES has lower ground detail than Landsat, but it has 16 separate sensors including Band 16 showing Carbon Dioxide available on the main page of this website.
Landsat is a polar-orbiting satellite at an altitude of approximately 22,500 miles or 35,786 km above Earth, allowing it to capture imagery of the entire Earth's surface as it passes over different areas on a 16-day cycle. Landsat offers high-ground clarity (resolution) typically about 98 feet (30 meter) for optical and thermal infrared bands and is excellent for detailed land surface analysis and tracking changes over time. Access to Landsat imagery is available as a free service through Google Earth. Both Google Earth and Google Earth Pro provide several useful features including a Weather tab that allows users to visually monitor weather at a global scale, and it is available to access on the web or download.
In contrast, GOES orbits at a much higher altitude (around 22,500 miles or 35,786 km) in a geostationary orbit above the equator, meaning it remains fixed over a particular area of Earth and provides continuous coverage. Its higher altitude inherently limits its ground detail with visible and near-infrared bands at about half a mile (1 km) and infrared bands at about 1.2-miles (2 km). GOES has lower ground detail than Landsat, but it has 16 separate sensors including Band 16 showing Carbon Dioxide available on the main page of this website.