Remote Sensing

Unit 1
 Remote Sensing
• It is the technology of acquiring the
information of the earth’s surface without
getting in contact with it.
• This is done by sensing and recording the
reflected or emitted energy, processing,
analyzing and applying the information.
Rayleigh Scattering
• In remote sensing
we are interested
in measuring the
radiation reflected
from the targets.
• Two types of
reflection:
1. Diffuse
2. Specular
Types of Satellite
orbits
• Three kinds of satellite orbits,
which depend on its position
relative to the surface of the
Earth. These are:
1. Geostationary orbit
A geostationary or geosynchronous
orbit stays in the same spot relative
to Earth. It flies at an altitude of
about 35,790 km, orbiting with the
planet in the same direction.
2. Geosynchronous orbit is
an orbit around Earth of
a satellite with an orbital
period that matches Earth's
rotation on its axis, which takes
one sidereal day (about 23 hours,
56 minutes, and 4 seconds)
Geosynchronous satellites are often
used to monitor weather events or
transmit television and
communications signals.
3. Polar orbits/Sun synchronous
orbit
Satellites on polar orbits circle
the planet on a near-polar
inclination,
maintaining an altitude of at
least 700 km. These satellites
pass over the equator at the
same solar time every single
day, which allows it to collect
data consistently. Polar orbiting
satellites are generally used for
photography and mapping.
IFOV – Instantaneous Field of View
 Across Track Scanner (Whiskbroom)
• A rotating or oscillating mirrors are used to
scan the terrain in a series of lines, called scan
lines, which are at right angles to the flight
line.
Along Track Scanner
(Pushbroom)
• Does not use any scanning
mirrors, instead a linear
array of detectors are used
to simultaneously record
the energy received from
multiple ground resolution
cells along the scan line.
• This linear array typically
consists of numerous
charged coupled devices
(CCDs).
• The array of detectors are
pushed along the flight
direction to scan the
successive scan lines,
 Limitations of Remote Sensing
1. Expensive for smaller areas, particularly for one time
analysis.
2. Requires specialized training for analysis of images.
3. Large scale engineering maps may not be prepared from
satellite data.
4. Costly if repetitive coverage is required to study dynamic
features.
5. Human induced errors - choosing data date, resolution
etc.
6. If sensors become Uncalibrated after Satellite launch=
Uncalibrated Remote Sensing.
7. Utility is oversold
8. Simply provides spatial, spectral and temporal information
at a few radiometric resolutions.
Future of Remote Sensing