This document discusses Landsat 8, an Earth-observing satellite launched by NASA in 2013. It provides details on Landsat 8 such as its mission to continuously archive global images of Earth since the 1970s, how it collects about 400 scenes per day, and its various spectral bands that can be used alone or combined for different analyses. Band combination examples are shown for Landsat 8 images before and after processing of Inle Lake to demonstrate the use of natural color, color infrared, and different false color composites.

1. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development
Kathmandu, Nepal
Image Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Kabir Uddin, GIS and RS Analyst
Email: kabir.uddin@icimod.org kabir.uddin.bd@gmail.com
Band Combination of
Landsat 8 Earth-observing
satellite Images

2. Landsat 8
 The Landsat program offers the longest continuous global record of the
Earth’s surface
 In 1975, NASA Administrator Dr. James Fletcher predicted that if one
space age development would save the world, it would be Landsat and
its successor satellites. Since the early 1970s, Landsat has
continuously and consistently archived images of Earth
 On Feb. 11, 2013, NASA launched the Landsat 8 Earth-observing
satellite
 Landsat 8 officially began normal operations on May 30, 2013
 Landsat 8 has collected about 400 scenes of the Earth’s surface per
day.
 Each of these scenes covers an area of about 185 by 185 kilometers

3. Band Band
Name
Spectral
range (nm)
Use of
data
Resoluti
on
1 New Deep Blue 433-453 Aerosol/coastal zone 30 m
2 Blue 450-515 Pigments/scatter/coastal
30 m
(TM
heritage
bands)
3 Green 525-600 Pigments/coastal
4 Red 630-680 Pigments/coastal
5 NIR 845-885 Foliage/coastal
6 SWIR 2 1560-1660 Foliage
7 SWIR 3 2100-2300 Minerals/litter/no scatter
8 PAN 500-680 Image sharpening 15 m
9 SWIR 1360-1390 Cirrus cloud detection 30 m
Landsat 8 Bands

4. Landsat 8 enhancement
Landsat 8
images
normally
looks hazy
before
processing.
Please have a
look of
Landsat 8
images of Inle
Lake before
and after
processing.

5. Landsat 8 band combinations
Natural Color: 4,3,2

6. Landsat 8 band combinations
Color Infrared:5,4,3

7. Landsat 8 band combinations
False Color: 6,5,4

8. Landsat 8 band combinations
False Color: 7,6,4

9. Landsat 8 Bands
False Color: 7,5,3

10. Thank youThank you