April 23, 2024

A Super View of Los Angeles – From New NASA Satellite

On February 7, 2022, the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) on Landsat 9 acquired these natural-color views of the Los Angeles location. On February 10, USGS announced that Landsat 9 data is now offered for totally free download from EarthExplorer, Machine to Machine (M2M), and LandsatLook. Landsat 9 carries two main instruments: OLI-2, which detects visible, near-infrared, and shortwave-infrared light in 9 wavelengths, and the Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2), which detects thermal radiation in 2 wavelengths used to determine Earths surface area temperature levels. With 14-bit radiometric resolution, Landsat 9 can differentiate more than 16,000 tones of an offered wavelength; Landsat 8 offers 12-bit data and 4,096 shades. The 3rd image was gotten on February 7 with the TIRS-2 instrument on Landsat 9.

NASA introduced Landsat 9 in September 2021 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) up the roadway from Los Angeles. The satellite took its “very first light” images on October 31, and mission operators have since been testing the satellites subsystems and systems and adjusting its instruments. In late January 2022, NASA transferred operation of Landsat 9 to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
February 7, 2022
On February 10, USGS announced that Landsat 9 information is now offered totally free download from EarthExplorer, Machine to Machine (M2M), and LandsatLook. Given that October 31, 2021, Landsat 9 has actually gathered more than 57,000 pictures of Earth. The images will be processed, archived, and distributed from the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center.
Landsat 9 carries 2 main instruments: OLI-2, which identifies visible, near-infrared, and shortwave-infrared light in nine wavelengths, and the Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2), which identifies thermal radiation in 2 wavelengths used to measure Earths surface area temperatures. The brand-new satellite and instruments are rather comparable in design to Landsat 8, which was introduced in 2013 and stays in orbit. Together the satellites will collect approximately 1,500 images of Earths surface every day, observing the whole world every eight days.
Landsat 9 features several enhancements, including higher radiometric resolution, enabling OLI-2 to detect more subtle differences in surface functions, particularly over darker locations like water or dense forests. With 14-bit radiometric resolution, Landsat 9 can separate more than 16,000 tones of an offered wavelength; Landsat 8 supplies 12-bit information and 4,096 tones. Landsat 7, the satellite being replaced, detects only 256 shades with its 8-bit resolution.
February 7, 2022
The third image was acquired on February 7 with the TIRS-2 instrument on Landsat 9. It reveals land surface temperature levels prior to a winter heat wave hit Southern California. Temperatures have actually been 15 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit (8 ° to 11 ° Celsius) above regular this week in many parts of California, and several towns and cities (consisting of Burbank) set new daily temperature level records in February. The National Weather Service declared a heat advisory for February 9– 13. Some forecasters are suggesting this Super Bowl could see some of the warmest game-time temperature levels on record.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, utilizing Landsat information from the U.S. Geological Survey.

February 7, 2022
Landsat 9 completed its own pass recently in time for the big game.
Passes will be flying today in Los Angeles at the Super Bowl, among the most-watched sporting occasions each year in the United States. Previously this week, among the science neighborhoods newest satellites likewise flew over LA, continuing 50 years of seeing the city– and the planet– from above.
On February 7, 2022, the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) on Landsat 9 got these natural-color views of the Los Angeles location. The Super Bowl, the champion of American football, will be played in SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. It will be the 8th time the Los Angeles location has actually hosted the Super Bowl, but the first because 1993.