2. Getting Data

To make your own image, you need to: 1) GET DATA and 2) use an IMAGE SOFTWARE to view data.

Here are the two sources I prefer; both are free. GloVis is a source for getting images. It requires a free simple registration. A software is MultiSpec. MultiSpec can be used on Macs or PC's, and there is an online version. Use the steps below to get the data from GloVis and then view using MultiSpec. These steps will get you going. There are more choices and refinements as you learn more on the MultiSpec tutorials.

To Get Landsat Data and Download it:

1. Get a GloVis account: Open Chrome browser. Copy and paste: https://glovis.usgs.gov/

2. Log in (or register). Keep email account open.

3. Choose "launch" GloVis.

4. Choose your Data Set. I recommend starting with Landsat 8. (Sentinel 2 is excellent but more complicated). Choose the cloud cover in the left menu from 0 to ~30%. Click Apply at the bottom of the menu window. Click and drag your curser in the map area until you have your area of interest under the hash-marked circle. Zoom in to the smallest area you want to see. (Downloads quicker!)

4. Once you have your area, choose a date from the slider at the bottom.

8. Choose select. Choose Download. Choose download option: Level-1 (~1 GB)

9. Wait. It may take 30 minutes depending on download speed; mine at home takes 11 min. While you are waiting make a folder for your downloaded data.

10. When download complete click to unzip

11. Move your file to your designated folder.

To open data in MultiSpec

12. Download Multispec and/or use the online version here.

2. Open MultiSpec.

3. In MultiSpec select File. Select open image. Select the folder image is downloaded.

6. Double click on the name. If you sort in alphabetical order the next step easier. For Landsat 8 select only file labels ending with ....B1.TIF to B6.TIF and B9.TIF. (to keep high resolution) This is very Important: set the drop box option near the bottom left to: “Link selected files to new image window”. Choose open.

7. Select Ok in next two popups. Wait until image loads.

8. Select Processor. Select Reformat. Select Change Image File Format. Click OK at next popup.

9. Rename your file keeping the .tif Extension. I recommend that you keep the original title (numbers and letters) but add a short phrase in front of the title.

10. Select save. The computer will take a few minutes to reformat and save the file. Close the original.

11. Go to file, open renamed image. Click OK in next two popups.

12. You can scroll in (+) to about a scale of 1:85,000 before the image becomes pixelated.

13. You can select which wavelengths to color Red, Blue and Green to see specific features better (8 band choices). Go to Processor, display image. Learn which bands reveal what features best go to the "Basics" page or see chart below.

14. Note: if you want to see the wavelength data for each band, make a small rectangle on your image, go to Window, Selection, graph. The graph has bands on x-axis and reflected relative intensities on the y a-xis.

15. I recommend working with a smaller area. Following directions on the "Making a Subset" page. To see all images in each band (wavelength grouping), open your subset and choose Processor, Display Image.