Frequently Asked Questions about the Landsat Missions

Question:
What files will be included when I download a Landsat 8 scene?

Answer:

Along with similar multispectral bands used on the L7 ETM+ sensor, the addition of a new coastal/aerosol band and a new cirrus band will provide improved data products. Two thermal bands (TIRS) capture data with a minimum of 100 meter resolution, but will be registered to and delivered with the OLI data product.

The file sizes will be larger than existing Landsat 7 data, due to additional bands and improved 16-bit data product.

All files will be delivered in a tar.gz compressed file:

	Compressed	Uncompressed
LDCM/Landsat 8	1 GB	2 GB
Landsat 7	250 MB	450 MB
all file sizes approximate

A new Quality Assurance (QA) band will be also included. This band will provide bit information regarding conditions that may affect the accuracy and usability of a given pixel. More information can be found at How do I use the Landsat 8 Quality Assessment (QA) band?.