Tenth Anniversary of Landsat 7: A View of Auckland, New Zealand

April 15, 2009

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Landsat Project Scientist: Darrel Williams
Landsat Website Curator: Laura Rocchio, More Landsat Images
Summary Author: Jim Foster, Stu Witmer

Launched on this day 10 years ago, April 15, 1999, NASA's Landsat-7 satellite senses in the visible and near-infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum and has a spatial resolution of 15 m with a repeat orbit of 16 days. The Landsat series of satellites has been observing the Earth for nearly 38 years - the first Landsat satellite was launched in 1972.

The image above shows the city of Auckland, New Zealand as captured by the Landsat 7 satellite, on August 27, 2002. Greater Auckland, which is located on the North Island of New Zealand, is the nation's largest city, home to over one million people. Shown here in shades of lavender, this scenic city lies between the Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea and the Hauraki Gulf on the Pacific Ocean. The area was first settled in approximately 1350. Volcanic Rangitoto Island (top center) stands sentry over the entrance to Waitemata Harbour. This circular shaped island formed within just the last 1,000 years.