What is Remote Sensing?

Satellite oribiting the Earth
A satellite in orbit around the earth has a sensor which scans the earth's surface measuring the amount of light reflected.

 

Image of satellite recording only the blue portion of the light emitted by the sun, reflecting up to the satellite. In this image, there is blue water, green trees, and a brownish mountain.
One part of the sensor records only the amount of blue light reflected.

 

Image of satellite recording only the green portion of the light emitted by the sun, reflecting up to the satellite. In this image, there is blue water, green trees, and a brownish mountain.
Another part of the sensor records the amount of green light reflected.

 

Image of satellite recording only the red portion of the light emitted by the sun, reflecting up to the satellite. In this image, there is blue water, green trees, and a brownish mountain.
And another part of the sensor records the amount of red light reflected.

 

This image shows a grid with numbers on it. This represents data.
This information, also called data, is recorded as a series of numbers.

 

This image shows a satellite transmitting image to a ground station.
The data collected about the earth's surface is sent to a receiving antenna at a ground station.

 

This image shows a computer processing the red, green, and blue data.
Computers are used to process the data. The data about the amount of blue, green and red light reflected off the earth's surface is put together to make a satellite image. Scientists use these remote sensing images to study the earth.

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