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Remote Sensing Basics: Free Satellite Data (Bhuvan, Sentinel, Landsat)

Understand satellite images, calculate NDVI and water indices and map land cover change using only free data and tools

Ghosla Academy · Geography & Research Team

Satellites photograph every part of India every few days, and much of that data is free. This course explains how remote sensing works — energy, sensors, bands and resolution — in plain language, then shows you exactly where to get free images from Sentinel-2, Landsat 8/9 and Indian portals such as Bhuvan and Bhoonidhi. You will learn to read colour composites, calculate vegetation and water indices, classify land cover and measure change over time, with examples from Indian cities, wetlands, farms and forests. Two hands-on projects, one doable entirely on a phone browser, help you build maps that are useful for dissertations, field reports and interviews.

What you will be able to do

  • Explain electromagnetic energy, spectral signatures and the four types of resolution
  • Choose between Sentinel-2, Landsat 8/9 and Indian missions for a given study
  • Search, preview and download free images from Copernicus Browser, EarthExplorer and Bhuvan
  • Build true and false colour composites and interpret images visually
  • Calculate NDVI, NDWI, MNDWI and NDBI in QGIS and interpret their values
  • Classify land cover, assess accuracy with a confusion matrix and measure change in hectares

What you build

  • Before-and-after satellite image comparison of your own area using a phone browser
  • NDVI and land cover change mini-study with area statistics and an accuracy check

What you need to start

  • A smartphone with a browser for the first project; a basic laptop with QGIS for index and classification work
  • Basic idea of maps and percentages; the GIS & Mapping with QGIS course is helpful but not required

Curriculum · 5 sections, 21 lectures

Remote Sensing Fundamentals4 lectures
  1. How Remote Sensing Works: Energy, Sensors and PlatformsFree preview13 min
  2. Spectral Signatures: Why Plants Look Bright in Near-InfraredFree preview12 min
  3. The Four Resolutions: Spatial, Spectral, Radiometric, Temporal11 min
  4. Quiz: Remote Sensing Fundamentals6 min
Free Satellite Missions and Portals4 lectures
  1. Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8/9: Bands and Specifications15 min
  2. Indian Missions and Portals: Bhuvan, Bhoonidhi, MOSDAC and NISAR12 min
  3. Finding and Downloading Images: Copernicus Browser and EarthExplorer14 min
  4. Quiz: Free Satellite Missions and Portals7 min
Seeing the Image4 lectures
  1. True and False Colour Composites12 min
  2. Reading an Image: Visual Interpretation Keys11 min
  3. Project: Before-and-After Image Comparison of Your Area on a Phone18 min
  4. Quiz: Seeing the Image6 min
Spectral Indices4 lectures
  1. NDVI: Measuring Vegetation Greenness15 min
  2. NDWI, MNDWI and NDBI for Water and Built-up Areas13 min
  3. Raster Calculator in QGIS: Indices Step by Step12 min
  4. Quiz: Spectral Indices7 min
Classification and Change Detection5 lectures
  1. Land Use / Land Cover Classification Basics15 min
  2. Accuracy Assessment with a Confusion Matrix12 min
  3. Change Detection and Area Statistics13 min
  4. Project: NDVI and Land Cover Change Mini-Study20 min
  5. Quiz: Classification and Change Detection7 min

Who this is for

  • Geography, Environmental Science, Agriculture and Forestry students at UG/PG level
  • Research scholars who need vegetation, water or land use maps for a thesis
  • UGC-NET, civil services and state exam aspirants who want practical clarity on remote sensing concepts