Launched on February 11, 2013, Landsat 8 (formerly the Landsat Data Continuity Mission, LDCM) is the future of Landsat satellites. It is collecting valuable data and imagery to be used in agriculture, education, business, science, and government.
The Landsat Program provides repetitive acquisition of high resolution multispectral data of the Earth’s surface on a global basis. The data from Landsat spacecraft constitute the longest record of the Earth’s continental surfaces as seen from space. It is a record unmatched in quality, detail, coverage, and value.
Featured Landsat 8 Imagery
++ Important TIRS calibration notice from USGS, Jan. 6, 2014: “Due to the larger calibration uncertainty associated with TIRS band 11, it is recommended that users refrain from relying on band 11 data in quantitative analysis of the TIRS data, such as the use of split window techniques for atmospheric correction and retrieval of surface temperature values.”
We suggest that Band 10 be used in conjunction with an atmospheric model to estimate surface brightness temperature. Our calibration team has found that with current processing these surface brightness temperatures are accurate to within ~±1 K for many 15 – 35° C targets, e.g., growing season vegetated targets.
For more details, please visit the Landsat 8 Data Users Handbook