This item-type includes imagery from PlanetScope sensors. PlanetScope images are from three different sensors: PS2, PS2.SD, and PSB.SB. Sensors PS2 and PS2.SD deliver four bands: red, green, blue, and near-infrared. PSB.SD sensor has an additional four bands: green I, yellow, coastal blue, and red edge.
The earliest PS2 imagery available is on July 2014 to April 29, 2022. The earliest PS2.SD imagery available is on March 2019 to April 22, 2022. The earliest PSB.SD imagery available is mid-March 2020 to current monitoring.
Products overview¶
Planet offers two geometry types for PlanetScope imagery: Basic and Ortho. Basic Scene is not orthorectified or corrected for terrain distortions. Ortho Scene is orthorectified with additional post processing applied. By default, both Basic and Ortho products are provided as GeoTIFF images. Containing geospatial metadata, the GeoTIFF file format is used in GIS and other remote sensing software.
For ortho products, GeoTIFFs are resampled at 3 meters and are projected into the UTM projection using the WGS84 Datum. The basic products still use native Ground Sample Distance (GSD). GSD varies between sensor types with the current PSB.SD (SuperDove) fleet having GSD between 3.8 to 4.2 meters. Each GeoTIFF image can be converted to Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF and National Imagery Transmission Format 2.1 using the File Format tool in the Orders API and the Subscriptions API.
The analytic products are accompanied by a Usable Data Mask (UDM2) file. The UDM2 file is a raster file that consists of eight bands that provide information about each pixel quality in the scene. Each band provides context on whether a pixel is clear, cloudy, shadowed, etc. These bands allow users to remove pixels that aren’t useful after they download the image. UMD2 also compensates for effects due to vignetting, low signal-to-noise, or hot or cold pixels.
The PlanetScope Ortho Scene product is orthorectified and is designed for applications that require imagery with an accurate geolocation and cartographic projection. These scenes have been processed to remove distortions caused by terrain. Ortho Scenes are delivered as Visual (RGB) and Analytic products. Ortho Scenes are radiometrically-, sensor-, and geometrically-corrected products projected to a cartographic map projection. The geometric correction uses fine Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) with a post spacing of between 30 and 90 meters.
The PlanetScope Basic Scene product is a scaled Top of Atmosphere Radiance (TOAR) (at sensor) and sensor-corrected product, providing imagery as seen from the spacecraft without correction for any geometric distortions. It has scene-based framing and is not mapped to a cartographic projection. The Basic Scene product is designed for users with advanced image processing capabilities who plan to geometrically correct the product themselves. The imagery data is accompanied by Rational Polynomial Coefficients (RPCs) to enable orthorectification by the user.
Ground Control Points (GCPs) are used in the creation of every image and the accuracy of the product varies from region to region based on available GCPs.
PlanetScope satellites collect imagery as a series of overlapping frame scenes and are not organized to any particular grid system. Ortho Scenes enable users to stitch scenes together and to clip them to a tiling grid.
To read more about PlanetScope imagery, see the PlanetScope Product Specification.
PlanetScope band order¶
The following lists band orders of each asset. The 3-band and 4-band assets have the same band order, while the 8-band assets change to accommodate for the additional four bands.
For additional explanations of band type order and the imagery returned from different sensor data, see Understanding PlanetScope Instruments.
3-Band asset band order¶
The 3-band visual (natural color) band order is:
- Band 1 = Red
- Band 2 = Green
- Band 3 = Blue
4-Band asset band order¶
The 4-band multispectral band order is:
- Band 1 = Blue
- Band 2 = Green
- Band 3 = Red
- Band 4 = Near-infrared
8-Band asset band order¶
The 8-band multispectral band order is:
- Band 1 = Coastal Blue
- Band 2 = Blue
- Band 3 = Green I
- Band 4 = Green
- Band 5 = Yellow
- Band 6 = Red
- Band 7 = Red Edge
- Band 8 = Near-infrared
Item properties¶
| Property Name | Description | Type |
|---|---|---|
| _permissions | Assets available for the item which the authenticated user has permission to download. | array |
| geometry | Geographic boundary, formatted as a GeoJSON polygon. | json |
| id | Globally unique item identifier. | string |
| acquired | Timestamp when the item was captured. | datetime |
| anomalous_pixels | Percentage of pixels that may have errors. Represented spatially in the UDM. | double |
| clear_confidence_percent | Percentage value: per-pixel algorithmic confidence in 'clear' classification. | int [0‑100] |
| clear_percent | Percent of clear values in the dataset. Clear values represent scene content areas (non-blackfilled) deemed to be not impacted by cloud, haze, shadow, or snow. | int [0‑100] |
| cloud_cover | Ratio of the area covered by clouds to that which is uncovered. | double |
| cloud_percent | Percent of cloud values in the dataset. Cloud values represent scene content areas (non-blackfilled) that contain opaque clouds which prevent reliable interpretation of the land cover content. | int [0‑100] |
| ground_control | Positional accuracy of the item. If the item has uncertain positional accuracy, this value is false. | boolean |
| gsd | Ground sample distance - the distance between pixel centers as measured on the ground in meters. | double |
| heavy_haze_percent | Percent of heavy haze values in the dataset. Heavy haze values represent scene content areas (non-blackfilled) that contain thin low altitude clouds, higher altitude cirrus clouds, soot, and dust which allow fair recognition of land cover features, but not having reliable interpretation of the radiometry or surface reflectance. | int [0‑100] |
| instrument | Name of the satellite instrument used to collect the image. | string |
| item_type | Name of the item type. | string |
| light_haze_percent | Percent of light haze values in the dataset. Light haze values represent scene content areas (non-blackfilled) that contain thin, low-altitude clouds, higher altitude cirrus clouds, and soot and dust which allow reliable recognition of land cover features, and that have up to +/-10% uncertainty on commonly used indices (EVI and NDWI). | int [0‑100] |
| pixel_resolution | Pixel resolution of the imagery in meters. | double |
| provider | Name of the item provider (e.g. "planetscope", "rapideye"). | string |
| published | Timestamp when the item was published to the Planet API. | datetime |
| publishing_stage | Stage of publishing for an item. PSScene first publish can be to any state; preview, standard or finalized. The lowest quality state is preview. As an image goes through rectification, it moves to standard and, ultimately, to the finalized state. Note: some images remain in preview state and do not go through RPC refinement. |
string |
| quality_category | Planet image quality metric: standard or test. To qualify for standard image quality an image must meet a variety of quality standards, for example: band alignment or minimum number of missing pixels. If the image does not meet these criteria it is considered test quality. |
string |
| satellite_azimuth | Spacecraft off track pointing direction, in degrees (0-360). | float |
| satellite_id | Globally unique satellite identifier. | string |
| shadow_percent | Percent of shadow values in the dataset. Shadow values represent scene content areas (non-blackfilled) not fully exposed to the solar illumination as a result of atmospheric transmission losses due to cloud, haze, soot, and dust, and therefore do not allow for reliable interpretation of the radiometry or surface reflectance. | int [0‑100] |
| snow_ice_percent | Percent of snow and ice values in dataset. Snow_ice values represent scene content areas (non-blackfilled) that are hidden below snow or ice. | int [0-100] |
| strip_id | The unique identifier of the image stripe that the item came from. | string |
| sun_azimuth | The angle of the sun, as seen by the observer, measured clockwise from the north (0 - 360). | double |
| sun_elevation | The angle of the sun above the horizon (0 - 90). | double |
| updated | Timestamp when the item record was last updated. | datetime |
| view_angle | The satellite's across-track, off-nadir viewing angle. Positive numbers denote east, negative numbers denote west (-25 - +25). | double |
| visible_confidence_percent | Visible values represent the fraction of the scene content (excluding the portion of the image which contains blackfill) which comprises clear, light haze, shadow, snow/ice categories, and is given as a percentage ranging from zero to one hundred. | int [0‑100] |
| visible_percent | Average of confidence percent for clear_percent, light_haze_percent, shadow_percent and snow_ice_percent. | int [0‑100] |
Available asset types¶
| Asset Name | Description |
|---|---|
| ortho_analytic_3b | Radiometrically-calibrated analytic image stored as 16-bit scaled radiance. (Note: This product is only available for instrument type “PS2”). |
| ortho_analytic_4b | Radiometrically-calibrated analytic image stored as 16-bit scaled radiance. |
| ortho_analytic_8b | Radiometrically-calibrated analytic image stored as 16-bit scaled radiance. |
| ortho_analytic_8b_sr | PlanetScope atmospherically corrected surface reflectance product. |
| ortho_analytic_8b_xml | Radiometrically-calibrated analytic image metadata. |
| ortho_analytic_4b_sr | PlanetScope atmospherically corrected surface reflectance product. |
| ortho_analytic_4b_xml | Radiometrically-calibrated analytic image metadata. |
| ortho_analytic_3b_xml | Radiometrically-calibrated analytic image metadata. (Note: This product is only available for instrument type “PS2”). |
| basic_analytic_4b | Unorthorectified radiometrically-calibrated analytic image stored as 16-bit scaled radiance. |
| basic_analytic_8b | Unorthorectified radiometrically-calibrated analytic image stored as 16-bit scaled radiance. |
| basic_analytic_8b_xml | Unorthorectified radiometrically-calibrated analytic image metadata. |
| basic_analytic_4b_rpc | Rational Polynomial Coefficients text file used to orthorectify the basic_analytic_4b asset. |
| basic_analytic_4b_xml | Unorthorectified radiometrically-calibrated analytic image metadata. |
| basic_udm2 | Unorthorectified usable data mask (Cloud 2.0). Read more about this new asset. |
| ortho_udm2 | Usable data mask (Cloud 2.0). |
| ortho_visual | Visual image with color-correction. |
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