If you are new to satellite imagery, or not familiar yet
with the capabilities of recently launched Landsat 8 satellite, a post by Charlie
Loyd on mapbox.com blog explains in plain English how the data can be used.
It’s a great read, illustrated with examples of what you get when you mix and
match various “data streams” (ie. bands = colours, although not necessarily
visible to human eye, represented by a specific frequency along the
electromagnetic spectrum).
The 30 m resolution of Landsat 8 imagery (15m for black and
white version) does not allow “peaking over the fence to your neighbour’s
backyard” but it is a great source of timely information for all sorts of
environmental analysis (eg. crop monitoring, determination of land
characteristics) and is very
helpful in monitoring geographic extents of natural disasters (like floods or
bushfires).
[Bands 7-5-1 combination revealing bushfire burn scar - bottom left ]
Landsat 8 data is available for download via:
