For the past years we have looked far and wide for color nighttime imagery but to no avail until now as we are pleased to announce a new exciting luminous imagery offering from Jilin-1! Launched and operated by CG Satellite, meet Jilin-1, the only world’s only high-resolution, color satellite constellation collecting nighttime imagery. Offered at 92-centimeter resolution, nighttime imagery from Jilin-1 is the ideal solution for a plethora of problems only now solvable from a satellite constellation, including:
- Light pollution studies
- Population estimates
- Detection of burnt out street and building lights
- Measurement of short-term disturbances in power delivery caused by natural disasters
- Change detection
- Monitoring of illegal nighttime fishing
- Modeling of anthropogenic carbon emissions
Cloud Cover and Jilin-1 Nighttime Imagery
Nighttime imagery from Jilin-1 is currently only offered as a new collection with a 20% or less cloud cover guarantee. We will make up to three attempts for the agreed upon price in order to achieve 20% or less clouds, however even if all 3 attempts exceed 20% cloud cover, payment is still required. To this end, here are the various steps we take to reduce and assess clouds in your Jilin-1 nighttime imagery.
(1) To the best of our ability, we will suggest possible Jilin-1 access dates and times with predicted weather conditions. Clients will then be able to reject possible imaging days.
(2) After acquisition, we will assess cloud cover as best as possible by comparing a daytime image (as seen in Google Earth) to the collected nighttime image. Our focus will be on luminosity in large light-intensive areas throughout the imagery.
(3) Clients are able to provide several key points of interest inside of the 100 square kilometer or greater polygon for additional highly-targeted cloud cover assessments.
(4) Images can be rejected with cause by a client; or by our team during the review process. In the case of rejected data, another image (up to 3 total images) will be collected over a given area of interest for the agreed upon nighttime tasking price.
Jilin-1 Specifications Summary
Now that we have addressed cloud cover assessments for Jilin-1 nighttime imagery, let’s take a look at a summary of its key specifications:
- Imagery Resolution – 92-cm (at nadir), imagery delivered at native ground sampling distance (GSD)
- Spectral Bands – blue, green and red
- Approximate Equatorial Nighttime Imaging Time – 22:30 local time, Video 3/7/8; 0:00 local time, Video 4/5/6
- Average Revisit Frequency –3 days, varies by off-nadir and latitude
- Dynamic Range – 8-bits
- Footprint Dimensions – 11 kilometers (km) x 4.5 km, Video 3 satellite; 19 km x 4.5 km, Video 4/5/6/7/8 satellites
- Imaging Blackout Dates – varies by maximum North or South latitude, feasibility available with submission of project polygon
If you are interested in samples of Jilin-1 or additional specifications, you can check out our website here. And if you would like a new price list that includes Jilin-1 nighttime imagery pricing or need help pricing out a specific project, send us an email anytime at sales@apollomapping.com.
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