Multispectral and hyperspectral imagery

Optical sensors can capture imagery in the form of multispectral or hyperspectral imagery. Multispectral imagery captures a small number of broad, discrete bands. In contrast, hyperspectral imagery consists of dozens of continuous, narrow bands.

Multispectral imagery

• Specific, discontinuous ranges of the spectrum with gaps between bands.
• Broader bandwidths of mostly 50–200 nm wide, with panchromatic bandwidths spanning 200–450 nm.
• Broadly identifies and classifies materials.

Hyperspectral imagery

• Broader, continuous ranges of the spectrum with minimal to no gaps between bands.
• Narrower bandwidths of 5–20 nm wide.
• Isolates and identifies specific material spectral signatures.

Multispectral imagery

• Greater spatial resolution for each band as it averages light captured over a broader range of wavelengths.
• Lower spectral resolution for each captured pixel.

Hyperspectral imagery

• Lower spatial resolution for each band, as it captures light over a smaller range of wavelengths.
• Greater spectral resolution for each captured pixel.

All multispectral and hyperspectral imagery follow the standardized geometric and radiometric processing levels and delivery formats.

Multispectral imagery

• Typically, four to six bands, with a relatively lower file size.
• More suited for visual analysis methods.
• Greater availability of catalog imagery.
• Relatively lower cost.

Hyperspectral imagery

• Typically, dozens of spectral bands, with a relatively larger file size.
• Requires more advanced analysis tools.
• Lower availability of catalog imagery, often needs to be tasked.
• Relatively higher cost.

Multispectral and hyperspectral imagery are complementary and can be used for a variety of use cases.

Tasking Catalog

Available tasking collections:

See multispectral collections See hyperspectral collections

Available catalog collections:

See multispectral collections See hyperspectral collections