In this monthly article, we travel the world to check out unique, fun and sometimes a bit weird 30-centimeter (cm) color imagery samples from the WorldView constellation. In October, we looked at Absheron National Park in Azerbaijan. For this edition of the 30-cm Color WorldView Image of the Month, we feature an image of Shandur Polo Field in Pakistan.
Nestled high in the Himalayas, Shandur Polo Field holds the distinction of being the highest polo field in the world. Located at an elevation of 3,700 meters (~12,139 feet) above sea level in northern Pakistan, this unique venue hosts an annual Shandur Polo Festival that draws spectators and players from around the world. Surrounded by snow-capped peaks and pristine mountain lakes, a three-day festival held each July highlights a longstanding tradition that adheres to the original freestyle version of the game with no umpires or restriction rules. Each team consists of six players and they are allowed to do whatever it takes to score. This leads to intense matches in which both players and horses often get injured. Unlike a regular polo field, which is 270 meters by 150 meters, Shandur Polo Field is 200 meters by 50 meters, which adds to the risk of players clashing against one another. Officials say the event aims to foster unity and harmony between the two regions, which share historical ties and a friendly sporting rivalry. In the image featured here, we can see the vibrant green roofs of several buildings along with the narrow polo field stretching out at an angle and spectator stands running alongside it. This 30-cm WorldView Legion image was collected on September 23, 2024, and has custom processing and color balance applied by Apollo Mapping. (Satellite Imagery © 2025 Maxar Technologies)30-cm WorldView-3 (WV3) launched in late 2014, WorldView-4 (WV4) launched in late 2016 and then the first WorldView Legion satellites launched in 2024. Taken together, this is 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 WorldView 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.
- Additional Spectral Bands
- If spectral analysis is part of your project, then no other satellite can match WorldView-3 and WorldView Legion with their 8 bands of visible and near-infrared data; and then 8 shortwave infrared bands (WV3 only) which are crucial for geological studies.
- Better Positional Accuracy
- With accuracies of 3.5-m CE90% or better (without ground control even!), the 30-cm WorldView constellation has no rivals for its enhanced positional accuracy.
- Daily Revisits
- With multiple WorldView-3 and WorldView Legion satellites orbiting our planet, daily revisits are available for most locations.
- 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 kilometers (sq km) of high-resolution data per day per satellite (though WV4 is dead now).
- When fully launched, WorldView Legion will feature six 30-cm satellites, significantly boosting the collection capacity of this leading high-resolution constellation.
If you are interested in WorldView-3, WorldView-4 and/or WorldView Legion 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; WV4 samples and information can be found here; and then finally here is more information about WorldView Legion.
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