Satellite Overview
Launch Year
2013
Operating Agency
USGS & NASA
Orbit Type
Sun-synchronous, polar orbit
Mission Purpose
Land surface monitoring with 16-day revisit cycle
Sensors and Instruments
Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS)
Resolution Information
Spatial Resolution
30m (multispectral), 100m (thermal)
Spectral Resolution
11 bands (Visible, NIR, SWIR, Thermal)
Temporal Resolution
16 days
Radiometric Resolution
12-bit (0-4096 values)
Spectral Bands
| Band | Wavelength Range | Resolution | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band 1 | 0.43-0.45 μm | 30m | Coastal aerosol, cloud detection |
| Band 2 | 0.45-0.51 μm | 30m | Blue light, water studies |
| Band 3 | 0.53-0.59 μm | 30m | Green light, vegetation studies |
| Band 4 | 0.64-0.67 μm | 30m | Red light, NDVI calculation |
| Band 5 | 0.85-0.88 μm | 30m | NIR, vegetation monitoring |
| Band 6 | 1.57-1.65 μm | 30m | SWIR, moisture content |
| Band 7 | 2.11-2.29 μm | 30m | SWIR, mineral mapping |
| Band 8 | 0.50-0.68 μm | 15m | Panchromatic, pan-sharpening |
| Band 10 | 10.6-11.19 μm | 100m | Thermal IR, temperature mapping |
| Band 11 | 11.5-12.51 μm | 100m | Thermal IR, emissivity correction |
Applications
Land Use Land Cover (LULC) classification
Vegetation monitoring and NDVI analysis
Water body detection and flood mapping
Urban expansion monitoring
Disaster assessment (earthquakes, floods)
Agricultural crop monitoring
Change detection analysis
Student Notes
- •Landsat 8 has been freely available since 2014
- •NDVI = (Band 5 - Band 4) / (Band 5 + Band 4)
- •Band 8 (panchromatic) has 15m resolution for better sharpening
- •16-day revisit period allows temporal analysis
- •Data can be downloaded from USGS EarthExplorer
- •Cloud cover and atmospheric correction are important considerations
Quick Facts
Launched
2013
Agency
USGS & NASA
Best Resolution
30m (multispectral), 100m (thermal)
Revisit Cycle
16 days