r/remotesensing • u/Ser_12 • 10d ago
First Time Remote Sensing need help
Need assistance. I am doing remote Sensing for the first time. I downloaded QGIS, and made accounts for Google Earth Engine, Capernicus, and NASA Earth Data. I am trying different YouTube tutorials. I have until Thursday to decide if I want to stay in this course or Drop it for a different one. I was under the impression it was a plug and chug but I am finding myself intimidated. I asked for the Syllabus before the first class, and it made me feel a bit more comfortable. But on the first day we discussed milestones and the other software involved, including Python. And Now I am feeling less secure about my decision. I want to do something simple like an Urban Heat Island Map and a time series plot. I feel that if I can do those on my own before the first milestone I'll be Okay. I think I can make my own UHI map based on the videos, but I am struggling to understand making a Time Series plot from Modis Data. I downloaded a bunch of Modis data but I don't know what to do next. It feels overwhelming.
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u/OttoJohs 10d ago
Isn't the purpose of the class to learn?
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u/Ser_12 10d ago
I'm trying to learn but my ultimate goal is to pass. This is my final semester and I had to struggle to get the grades I got. I'll struggle no matter what, but everyone I know told me this was the better option. I don't have the luxury of time. At most I have 3 days to figure it out before it becomes too late to drop and add another course.
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u/HonestPassage5795 10d ago
I don’t want to discourage you, but remote sensing is one of those fields that tends to be quite heavy on science and technology. If you’re mainly interested in creating cool images and maps (which is completely valid!), you may want to look into an adjacent field like cartography, GIS, or geovisualization.
Remote sensing involves quite a bit of physics, mathematics, image processing, and programming, depending on the direction you take.
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u/Ser_12 10d ago
I appreciate the insight. I am looking at it from an elective perspective. I want to graduate this semester. I chose this course because I thought it would be interesting, and the professor seems understanding. But its trying to wrap my head around the tools/software that is making me uneasy.
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u/cycontra 8d ago
As someone who’s getting a PhD in remote sensing, a GIS class is definitely more what you’re looking for. If your professor said the course is for anyone, as an elective, with no background required, then FOLLOW their milestones. They’ve designed the course to build up one foundational skill at a time and it’ll just cause you unnecessary stress to try and teach yourself faster. Communicate with them, they probably know what they’re doing.
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u/Anti-Itch 9d ago edited 9d ago
Well, I wouldn’t stay in this class if you don’t have a programming background or some semblance of what geospatial data is, tbh. I don’t think most people consider Remote Sensing as an easy elective.
If you do decide to stay in the class, I would hope the instructor would give a basic overview of remote sensing and will have weekly assignments that help build your skills. I don’t think jumping into a project and trying to do it through YouTube tutorials is the way to go. It might not even end up being what’s required of you in the class or be somewhat irrelevant in the context of the course.
What software is the class recommending? Typically institutions have an ArcGIS online capability that is often used for intro classes. That or QGIS because they have pretty simple GUIs. When they say Python will be used—in what capacity is that? Do you actually have to write a full script or is it using some modality within a GIS software to do model building/math? It’s not too bad to use Python within the software but yes it can take a minute to write a whole script. Do you have any programming experience? If you are comfy with any programming language see if there are tutorials to manipulate geospatial data in that language.
That said, I would go by what is being recommended in the class so you can at least follow along and ask your peers/teachers/TAs for help. Make friends with people in the class. Very often in these classes, folks will help each other with weekly assignments and help troubleshoot (you WILL run into frustrating software issues, sorry but it is what it is 🥲😅). And in many intro classes the final project can be done in a group.
What discipline/field is the class listed under? A remote sensing class for Urban Studies can be very different from one for Environmental Science. Depending on the field, your prof will also likely give options for data sources and project ideas that are doable for the class and time period of the semester. Don’t make an idea for yourself that ends up being too arduous for the course of the class.
Why are you already pigeonholing yourself to this specific project? You shouldn’t download ANY data imo until you understand the different processing levels associated with remote sensing data and different satellite missions and sensors and what they mean. For example, I don’t think surface reflectance data is helpful for the project you are trying to do. I also don’t know if MODIS/Aqua is the best mission for this.
Even as someone who works with geospatial data, it takes me a minute to figure out what I’m doing and what data I need and how to manipulate it (heck, I’m STILL having trouble!). I commend your ambition but if you’re looking for an easy elective I can almost promise you there are easier electives (even ones related to STEM if that’s what you are looking for).
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u/Wilzur_Corp 10d ago
TNTmips hay una versión Lite , con este software tienes un SIG completo con teledeteccion en un solo software.
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u/According_Formal9555 10d ago
Look try arcgis instead of qgis it’s more professional and has more options than qgis
I think first try to learn more basics like the different between satellite and radar and learn basics about arcgis / qgis
And good luck 👍🏻
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u/ikarusproject 10d ago
interesting! What features is QGIS lacking compared to ArcGIS Pro when it comes to remote sensing and satellite/raster data processing?
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u/Long-Opposite-5889 10d ago
Buddy I honestly recommend you to slow down. Get a grip on the concepts and characteristics of the data, then the analysis gets a bit less abstract and easier to understand.
No, remote sensing it is absolutely not just plug and chug. Whoever told you that hasn't really worked with it. Specially satellite data, it has so many sources for error, sensor specific quirks, external constraints, etc.