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Frequently Asked Questions about the Landsat Missions

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Question:
Why are some browse images black?

Answer:

Black browse images are night (ascending) scenes, which are occasionally acquired for rows 123 to 246. Black scenes with a bright oval (candle flame) are Partial Aperture Calibration (PAC) scenes, also acquired during the ascending node.

Both types of scenes contain useful data in the thermal infrared band 6.

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