Remote Sensing 101
Remote sensing
is the science of obtaining information about an object
or area through the analysis of measurements made at
a distance from the object (i.e., not coming in contact
with it).
The oldest
form of remote sensing is aerial photography where the
sensor system is the camera and film. More recently,
the field of remote sensing has grown to include electronic-optical
sensors which acquire multispectral digital images that
can be processed and analyzed by computers. Many of these
sensors are on satellites which regularly orbit the earth.
The quantity
most frequently measured and recorded in images is the
electromagnetic energy reflected by the object. The source
of the electromagnetic energy is the sun and the spectral
reflectance properties of many Earth surface features,
such as soil, vegetation and water, can be used to uniquely
identify and characterize them.
For more detailed
information describing how remote sensing works, please
visit:
|
The Electromagnetic
Spectrum
(click to enlarge)
How Satellite Imagery Works
(click to enlarge) |
