As of October 31, 2023, the ability to view and download the thermal band information for Landsat 4-9 sensors, Terra MODIS, and Terra ASTER has been added.
The response calculations and targets have been expanded to include thermal content.
The Target Spectra tabs have been modified to include selections available from the USGS Spectroscopy Laboratory and the ECOSTRESS Spectral Library.
Spectral Characteristics Viewer
The Spectral Characteristics Viewer allows users to evaluate satellite sensor bands that may be best suited for application research related to the available targets.
Overlay up to two sensor RSRs and six target spectra for analysis.
Compute the response [sensor(s) sampling the target(s)] of up to two sensor RSRs sampling up to six target spectra.
The viewer includes sensor and target spectral information in the following ranges: VSWIR (0.38 to 2.51 μm), TIR (2.51 to 14.0 μm), and VSWIR+TIR (0.38 to 14.0 μm).
Over the last several months, the USGS EROS EROS CalVal Center of Excellence (ECCOE) project has updated and improved this viewer. The latest improvements include enhanced display controls, display highlighting of sensor RSR and target spectra on legend mouseover, mouseover tooltips for target spectra short name traceability to the USGS Spectroscopy Lab, and the response calculation of the sensor RSR sampling the target spectra.
How to use the Spectral Characteristics Viewer (Click to expand/close)
Sensor Spectral Characteristics Comparison
Select the "Sensors/Targets" button and select up to two sensors in the "Sensor RSR" tab.
Select "Close" and the sensor RSR can be panned and zoomed for detailed views.
is the sensor relative spectral response. is the target spectra.
Note: Where sensor RSR and target spectra content are available, the response values will be computed and displayed. If target spectral content is limited to the VSWIR or the TIR regions, then response values where target spectra do not exist will be zero.
Band Name
Spectral Bandwidth (µm)
Response
Band Name
Spectral Bandwidth (µm)
Response
Response Plot (click to expand/close)
The plot(s) below are grouped by target with the selected sensor(s). The plot(s) includes the target selection(s) with the response values from the table above plotted at the center of the sensor bands.
Spectral characteristics results may be captured using system and web browser print functions, or a screen capture tool.
Sensor RSRs (Click to expand/close)
The RSRs for the following satellites are currently available:
is the sensor relative spectral response.
is the target spectra.