March 29, 2024

Exploring Earth From Space: Washington State – Through the Lens of Brand New Landsat 9

This false-color image, recorded on February 12, 2022, by Landsat 9, has actually been processed utilizing the satellites near-infrared channel. This channel is often used to highlight plants, which is especially apparent in the lower half of the image. This false-color image, captured on February 12, 2022, by Landsat 9, has actually been processed utilizing the satellites near-infrared channel. Columbia River, the biggest river in the Pacific Northwest, is noticeable in the top of the image in black.

This false-color image, captured on February 12, 2022, by Landsat 9, has been processed using the satellites near-infrared channel. This channel is often used to highlight greenery, which is particularly apparent in the lower half of the image.

Columbia River, the biggest river in the Pacific Northwest, shows up in the top of the image in black. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, streams through Washington and Oregon, before clearing into the Pacific Ocean. The river is among the worlds biggest sources of hydroelectric power and, with its tributaries, represents a 3rd of the possible hydropower of the United States.
As water takes in a fair quantity of radiation, water bodies, such as the Columbia River, appear black in the image. Specific icy water bodies dotted in the left of the image can be seen in turquoise as ice shows less in the near-infrared channel than in the visible part of the spectrum.
The Landsat series becomes part of ESAs Third-Party Missions program which includes practically 50 satellite objectives, and likewise forms part of ESAs Heritage Space program.

This false-color image, recorded on February 12, 2022, by Landsat 9, has been processed utilizing the satellites near-infrared channel. This channel is often utilized to highlight plant life, which is especially apparent in the lower half of the image. Circular shapes, mainly in the bottom-left, are center-pivot irrigation fields– where equipment turns around a central pivot and crops are watered with sprinklers.
To celebrate the recent data release from Landsat 9, we take a closer look at a part of Washington state– the northwesternmost state of the United States– through the lens of Landsat 9.
Information from Landsat 9, which was introduced in September 2021, is now publicly offered for users and researchers throughout the world. The satellite will continue the programs vital role in monitoring, understanding, and managing the land resources needed to sustain human life.
A collaboration between NASA and the US Geological Survey, the satellite carries two science instruments, the Operational Land Imager 2 (OLI-2) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor 2 (TIRS-2). The OLI– 2 captures observations of the Earths surface area in visible, near-infrared, and shortwave-infrared bands, and TIRS-2 measures thermal infrared radiation, or heat, discharged from Earths surface.