Ever since humans started launching satellites into space, they have provided us with images used for research. These images also offer vivid illustrations of landscapes for personal or business purposes. Investigative journalists and other specialists can use these satellite pictures for many different purposes, such as monitoring and covering global warming, conflicts between governments, natural and man-made disasters, illegal activities, and much more. So, this article will concentrate on some of the best sources for satellite images.
Resources
Landviewer
This is a product by EOS Data Analytics (EOSDA), one of the most trusted providers of satellite imagery analytics. With this tool, users can visualize, process, and analyze data by applying over ten indices to solve real business problems. Landviewer provides users with ten free medium-resolution satellite pictures daily. These images are obtained from many different data sources such as CBERS-4 NAIP, CBERS-4 PAN 10, CBERS-4 PAN5, CBERS-4 WFI, CBERS-4 MUX, Landsat 4-5, Landsat 4-5 MSS, Landsat 7 ETM+, Landsat 8 OLI + TIRS, and Sentinel-2 L2A. However, high-resolution images of up to 0.4m per pixel need to be purchased. These images are compiled from TripleSat, Gaofen 1, Gaofen 2, Ziyuan-3, KOMPSAT-2, KOMPSAT-3A, and KOMPSAT-3. This platform will help you discover high-res satellite imagery.
With this tool, users can obtain images of their area of interest worldwide and process them. Once processed, the images can be downloaded and used offline. Using the split view mode and time-series feature, users can compare the difference in pictures of the same place taken by different satellites and on different dates.
Google Earth
Google Earth is at the top of the list regarding sources for satellite images. It provides users with high-resolution pictures for free. The majority of the images found on this platform were taken in the past 3-5 years. It also provides users the Timelapse feature, which can view pictures of our ever-changing world.
Sentinel Hub
This is another very popular platform for viewing satellite images. All of their products can be accessed by users once they are released.
It is among the used platforms for viewing satellite data. You can also access Landsat and MODIS products through the Sentinel Hub.
Their Sentinel-2 satellite provides images of the entire earth and takes new pictures every five days. It provides free images with outstanding resolutions. The Sentinel-2 also offers 10m resolutions with 12 spectral bands.
NOAA
Users have free access to NOAA-20 and GEOS-R data pictures through their web portal. These pictures are provided in almost real-time because the GOES-R data is refreshed every 15 minutes. These satellites are geostationary and located at very distant orbits, which is why the images they take are not the best quality. That is why tracking weather events is their primary goal.
Copernicus Open Access Hub
In terms of available datasets, Copernicus is somewhat similar to Sentinel. However, this platform is designed for experts who need to create apps with low-resolution earth data. Using their open-access hub, developers can access open datasets through an API.
Zoom.Earth
This tool is also similar to Google Earth, and it provides up-to-date satellite pictures on a zoomable map. It obtains its data every ten minutes from two orbiting satellites.
Getting inspired
Satellite imagery has become an integral part of our society as many more people and businesses discover its wide range of uses. It is less costly to send satellites into space, and small ones can even provide frequent and high-resolution images. Now more than ever, there are lots of different companies providing end-users with a wide variety of different types of images. With high-resolution photos of 1sqm per pixel, we can see more details like forests, roads, and buildings.
Here are some of the inspiring stories about satellite imagery:
Satellite imagery is helping in the fight against forced labor in fishing. A study in 2021 by US researchers revealed that vessels that were reported to carry out unauthorized fishing and used forced labor had a different behavioral pattern to other ships. The ships were monitored with satellites.
Satellite images have also been used to analyze and monitor conflicts that have brought about the destruction of human settlements and rendered many refugees. For example, by comparing past and present satellite images of some areas in the northern part of Nigeria, you can see how war has wideout entire villages.
As technology advances and we continue to monitor different aspects of our planet using satellites, it will reveal lots of details that could help present and future generations. Innovation is key to our survival, and satellite data will show us the precise areas to make changes for the betterment of the world.
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