Satellite

Satellite brings recent imagery of any area straight into your Nova workspace. Choose the area, a date, and the sensors you need, and Nova adds the imagery to your map as layers. Use it to track change over time, support emergency response, plan missions and events more accurately, or analyze data. Here’s a step-by-step guide to the Satellite tool.

Creating a Satellite Layer

1. Select Create at the top of the Layer Panel.

2. Select Satellite under Features. The Create Satellite Layer panel opens on the left side of the map.

   

3. Check the Layer Name. It fills in automatically with Satellite and the selected date, and you can rename it before you process.

   

4. Drag the corners of the shaded box on the map to fit the area you want Satellite to process.

Choosing a Date

1. Open the date dropdown.

2. Select the calendar icon and pick the date you want imagery for.

   

3. Open Date Direction and choose where Satellite should look. Satellites only pass over an area every few days, so there may not be imagery for the exact date you pick.

   

Before: Uses the most recent available scenes on or before the selected date.

Closest to: Uses whichever scenes, before or after, fall nearest the selected date.

After: Uses the next available scenes on or after the selected date.

Selecting Sensors

1. Under Sensors, select the layer types you need. Each sensor becomes its own layer.

2. Hover over a sensor to see its info panel.

Visual: True color imagery for general situational awareness, just like an aerial photo. It’s selected by default and is the best place to start when you want to see what’s on the ground.

Infrared: Uses shortwave infrared to detect heat signatures and moisture.

Radar: All-weather imagery that sees through cloud and smoke, so you can still see the ground when the other sensors can’t.

All satellite data is from the Copernicus satellites with differing resolution and revisit intervals.

Resolution is the ground size of one pixel, so at 20 m each pixel covers 20 by 20 meters. Revisit is how often the satellite passes over the same place, which is why Date Direction matters when you pick a date. All three sensors use imagery from the Copernicus Earth observation program.

Processing Your Imagery

1. Select Process. You can keep working in Nova while your imagery processes.

   

2. Watch the progress on each layer in the Layer Panel. A Satellite mosaic complete message appears when your imagery is ready.

With Satellite, you can turn any area into up-to-date map layers in just a few steps: draw your area, pick a date, and choose your sensors. Compare Visual, Infrared, and Radar side by side to see what’s changed, what’s hidden under smoke or cloud, and what’s happening on the ground.