Questions tagged [earth-observation]
questions about the observation of the planet Earth from space, usually for scientific, technical, or other well-defined reasons, or about the spacecraft that do this. This tag is usually used for systematic observations, but it could also apply to a questions on specific images or photos observing something unusual requiring analysis.
122
questions
3
votes
0
answers
275
views
Are there ANY verified satellite images of visible light coherent backscattering from Earth?
Coherent backscattering is an optical phenomenon which is a bit complicated and as far as I know is pretty difficult to demonstrate in visible white light images. Image below from here.
According to ...
- 149k
0
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How do I calculate pointing and stability requirements for a platform (Cubesat, UAV) if we know sensor details (IFOV, Integration Time etc)?
My project involves developing a multi-mission modular satellite bus. I have couple of payloads under consideration and have the necessary sensor details. Based on that I am trying to figure the ...
1
vote
1
answer
450
views
What causes these faint, straight line artifacts in Suomi NPP images of Earth at night?
This is an image of the UK taken by the Suomi NPP satellite's Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) in 2012:
There are faint lines emanating from Scotland and northern England, with a ...
- 174
33
votes
7
answers
5k
views
Is it possible to see animals from space?
Will satellite imagery be able to see the backs of big animals such as lions, tigers, elephants, horses or zebras from space when they venture out in the open? I've not been able to find satellite ...
- 435
5
votes
7
answers
1k
views
How can the CYGNSS spacecrafts (actually) measure ocean roughness?
The Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System is a group of 8 smallsats which will orbit near the equator (inc=30°) and work as a constellation to take data on typhoons and hurricanes. While they are ...
- 149k
2
votes
1
answer
175
views
How can ISRO's RISAT satellites search for the lost IAF AN-32?
The Indian Air Force has lost contact with AN-32 (transport aircraft) on a mission. ISRO is going to deploy RISAT to search for the missing plane as the search area has widened. How will such ...
- 569
10
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Could an ISS astronaut photograph something like this 1km "Van Gogh" if they knew it was there?
At the end of December 2015, a giant "painting" made of 4 million color-sorted recycled bottles was put on display in Keelung, Taiwan. The Indian Express says it's 53 hectares, which is 530,000 square ...
- 149k
4
votes
1
answer
758
views
How much resolution did gravitational maps of Earth have before GRACE?
Today, our highest-resolution gravitational maps of the Earth are from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) project, launched in 2002.
Before GRACE, how fine was the resolution of ...
- 3,940
5
votes
2
answers
246
views
Is it possible to deliver enough LEO satellites with one launch to substitute for one in GEO?
Rough estimates shows that having around one hundred satellites would be enough to observe a single spot on Earth continuously and via peer to peer communication deliver that information to an earth-...
- 153
4
votes
1
answer
141
views
Examples of short satellite durations?
In the past I (think) I've read of artificial satellites which are designed to go into orbit quickly to deal with a short term need for observation of some type.
I'm now struggling to find a ...
- 141
6
votes
1
answer
1k
views
How is satellite data used to find drug crops?
Almost all leaves are a pretty similar shade of green, and from the altitude of a satellite a single pixel must be bigger than a whole bush. Yet satellite imagery has become central to detecting ...
- 21.4k
19
votes
3
answers
6k
views
Minimum number of satellites to image the entirety of Earth's surface at all times
The simplest solution would be a tetrahedron, but as the satellites all need to orbit in circles, it seems this configuration would only guarantee full coverage at one time.
For simplicity, there's ...
- 293
10
votes
2
answers
626
views
Will SMAP produce predictable satellite flares visible to the naked eye from the surface of the Earth?
The SMAP (Soil Moisture Active/Passive) satellite just deployed its 6 meters (19.7-foot) mesh reflector antenna today. The satellite orbits the Earth in Sun-synchronous retrograde near-polar, near ...
- 76k
10
votes
4
answers
686
views
Single-shot Blue Marble pictures
I was quite surprised to read in today's Earth Observatory Picture of the Day that the DSCOVR spacecraft, currently en route to the $L_1$ Lagrange point, will be the first spacecraft able to see the ...
- 1,254
4
votes
1
answer
437
views
What is the NASA "free flying infrared sensor" that BBC News is referring to?
From Obama seeks to raise NASA Funding (BBC News):
Nasa also wants to launch a free-flying infrared sensor to support the Landsat observations.
What is this "free-flying infrared sensor" they are ...
- 11.6k
14
votes
4
answers
8k
views
How many photographs are there of the whole Earth?
Most of the representations of the Earth from space that one sees are inventions, meant to clearly show the things people most want to see - the outlines of the continents, instead of mostly clouds as ...
- 21.4k
5
votes
1
answer
751
views
How can I calculate the Characteristic Energy to Sun-Earth L1?
Alternatively, does anyone know it?
I'm asking in regards to the upcoming DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) mission scheduled to launch aboard a Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket in January 2015. DSCOVR is ...
- 8,931
3
votes
2
answers
473
views
Elevation Angle from Earth Station antenna to Mars
I want to calculate the Elevation angle between Earth and Mars .I have the Mars and Earth exact position in space ,but need the elevation Angle from a specific Earth Station antenna ( e.g. canberra ...
- 31
12
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Which high-resolution Earth-facing satellites transmit data to the public in realtime?
Some NASA satellites such as LASCO transmit images which are viewable by the public in real time. Are there any high-resolution Earth-facing satellites that also are viewable by the public in real ...
- 6,764
10
votes
1
answer
949
views
Is Google Earth's view from space geometrically correct?
Google maps has a new (to me) feature, and it is pretty awesome! If you start at maps.google.com, switch to Earth view, and zoom all the way out, you get a view something like the one shown below.
...
- 1,096
-1
votes
1
answer
444
views
How much total mass has humankind utilized to launch (successfully & unsuccessfully) all the worlds satellites, probes, and manned missions? [closed]
This question asks how much mass has been launched into Space. I would like to know how much mass was required to launch that mass into Space. What is the ratio between mass launched and the resources ...
- 777
17
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What is the highest frequency at which Earth is, or has been, observed from space?
Earth observation from space occurs throughout the electromagnetic spectrum. With my meteorological bias, I until recently believed it wasn't at frequencies higher than UV, but the X-Ray detector ...
- 11.6k