Landsat 8

The Operational Land Imager (OLI) and Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) are onboard the Landsat 8 satellite, have acquired images of the Earth since February 2013. The sensors collect images of the Earth with a 16-day repeat cycle, referenced to the Worldwide Reference System-2. The approximate scene size is 170 km north-south by 183 km east-west (106 mi by 114 mi).

Landsat 8 image data files consist of 11 spectral bands with a spatial resolution of 30 meters for bands 1-7 and bands 9-11; 15-meters for the panchromatic band 8. Delivered Landsat 8 Level-1 data typically include both OLI and TIRS data files; however, there may be OLI-only and/or TIRS-only scenes in the USGS archive. A Quality Assurance (QA.tif) band is also included. This file provides bit information regarding conditions that may affect the accuracy and usability of a given pixel – clouds, water or snow, for example.