Using False Colors with Satellite Images

Purpose: Explore the effect of displaying intensity measurements of near infrared light by satellites as a visible color in satellite images.

NOTE: The images that follow are not interactive. Please download the software (OSX OS9 PC) and follow along with the mini tutorial.

Getting Started

The interface for the program is virtually identical to the ColorPicture software, except that it is designed to display jpegs of Landsat images available on the United States Geological Survey’s Earthshots website: http://edcwww.cr.usgs.gov/earthshots/slow/tableofcontents

Go to this site to download satellite images to your computer. Right-click or click and hold on an image of interest, and a pop-up menu will allow you to 'Save Image As...'. Practice with the following Landsat image of Great Salt Lake in 1972 and 1987, which is from the Earthshots website about Great Salt Lake.

Great Salt Lake, Utah, in 1972.

Great Salt Lake, Utah, in 1987.

Rather than controlling the image’s red, green, and blue being displayed by the computer display, the software displays the intensities of the satellite measurements for each pixel. 

In this case, the data being displayed are the intensities of reflected near infrared, visible red, and visible green measured by the Landsat satellite.