It’s January, which means it’s also ski season! These Worldview-4 images show the Val d’Isére Ski Resort in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. This charming town is nestled into the Alps and surrounded by ski slopes – oh and it’s five times the size of the largest ski resort in North America! Val d’Isére is arguably one of the most user-friendly international ski resorts, catering to English-speaking tourist as well. Forbes.com lists the ski resort as one of the World’s best. Although located in France, Val d’Isére is very close to both the Swiss and Italian borders, providing an exceptionally diverse and delicious experience. Melted cheese dishes such as raclette and fondue abound, while French and Italian specialties like risotto and pasta can be found on nearly every menu. As the cherry on top, the ski resort is a partner in Vail Resorts Epic Pass, so if you have one, you can ski at Val d’Isére for free! If you’re not a skier or snowboarder, the area offers plenty of other wintertime activities, such as ice climbing, dog sledding, and snowmobiling. These 30-cm WorldView-4 images of Val d’Isére were collected on December 1, 2018 and display the enchanting village and some of the surrounding ski area. This 30-cm WorldView-4 imagery has been processed by Apollo Mapping for improved perspective, clarity, and colors. And, finally, a quick note about these images, as well they are a bit dark! This is the result of the winter season where the Sun is low in the sky so shadows are deeper and darker. (Satellite Imagery © 2022 Maxar Technologies)Every time we look at WorldView-3 and WorldView-4 (WV3/4) imagery, we are blown away. And we hope you are equally impressed with the data! In December, we looked at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. For this edition of the 30-cm Color WorldView-3/4 Image of the Month we’re headed out of the States and over the ‘pond’ with a look at the Val d’Isére Ski Resort in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France.
WorldView-3 launched in late 2014 and WorldView-4 launched in late 2016; taken together they are the most advanced satellite constellation the commercial marketplace has ever had access to. Here are a few of the features that really set these satellites apart from the competition:
- Improved Resolution
- Higher resolution means you can see more detail in WV3/4 imagery.
- Data collected at nadir will have 31-centimeter (cm) panchromatic, 1.24-meter (m) visible and near infrared, 3.7-m SWIR (WV3 only) and 30-m CAVIS (WV3 only) bands.
- At 20 degrees off-nadir, the resolution is 34-cm panchromatic, 1.38-m visible and near infrared and 4.1-m shortwave infrared.
- Additional Spectral Bands
- If spectral analysis is part of your project, then no other satellite can match WV3 with its: 8 bands of visible and near-infrared data; and 8 shortwave infrared bands which are crucial for geological studies.
- Better Positional Accuracy
- With accuracies of 3.5-m CE90% or better (without ground control even!), WV3/4 has no rivals for its enhanced positional accuracy.
- Daily Revisits
- At 40 degrees latitude, WV3 is able to image every location daily with 1-meter or better resolution and then every 4.5 days at 34-cm resolution or better.
- WV4 is no longer collecting new imagery.
- Increased Collection Capacity
- WV3/4 feature 13.1-km swath widths (at nadir) with the ability to collect up to 680,000 square kilometer (sq km) of high-resolution data per day per satellite (though WV4 is dead now).
- Improved control movement gyros translate into larger maximum contiguous collection areas per pass, with up to ~7,500 sq km of mono imagery and ~3,000 sq km of stereo possible.
If you are interested in WorldView-3 and/or WorldView-4 imagery for your next project, please let us know by phone, 303-993-3863, or by email, sales@apollomapping.com.
You can also find more WV3 samples and technical information on our website here and then WV4 samples and information can be found here.
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