Basic Remote Sensing Terms

1. Remote sensing is the science and technology of collecting information about the Earth’s surface without making physical contact. It involves the use of sensors mounted on satellites, aircraft, or drones to detect and record electromagnetic radiation—such as visible light, infrared, and microwave energy—that is reflected or emitted by objects on the ground.
2. The main goal of remote sensing is to observe, measure, and analyze features or phenomena across large areas efficiently. It plays a crucial role in a wide range of applications including environmental monitoring, agriculture, forestry, urban planning, disaster management, and climate studies.
3. Remote Sensing – The process of acquiring information about an object or area from a distance, typically using satellites or aircraft.
4. Sensor – A device that detects and records electromagnetic energy.
5. Platform – The vehicle or structure (satellite, drone, aircraft) carrying the sensor.
6. Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) – The range of all types of electromagnetic radiation, used in remote sensing to capture data at different wavelengths.
7. Spatial Resolution – The size of the smallest possible feature that can be detected in an image (e.g., 10 meters).
8. Spectral Resolution – The ability of a sensor to distinguish between different wavelengths.
9. Temporal Resolution – How frequently a sensor revisits the same location.
10. Radiometric Resolution – The sensitivity of a sensor to detect slight differences in energy (measured in bits).

---

🌍 Types of Remote Sensing

9. Passive Remote Sensing – Detects natural energy (usually sunlight) reflected or emitted by objects.
10. Active Remote Sensing – Emits energy and records its reflection (e.g., radar, LiDAR).

---

🛰️ Satellite & Sensor Terms

11. Landsat – A long-running satellite program for Earth observation.
12. MODIS – Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, used for environmental monitoring.
13. Sentinel – A series of satellites from the European Space Agency (ESA).
14. LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) – Uses laser pulses to measure distances to the Earth’s surface.
15. SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) – An active microwave sensor that captures images through clouds and at night.

---

🌐 Data Processing Terms

16. Image Classification – Grouping pixels into land cover types or classes.
17. NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) – A vegetation index derived from satellite data.
18. Georeferencing – Aligning imagery to geographic coordinates.
19. Orthorectification – Correcting an image for terrain distortion to create a uniform scale.
20. Pixel – The smallest unit of a digital image, representing reflectance data.