This diagram shows the sensors on a selection of satellites. The spectrum goes horizontally along the X axis from short wavelengths (visible) on the left, to long wavelengths (infra-red) on the right. Scanners are shown vertically on the Y axis. Each scanner has multiple sensors, and the sensor number increases vertically. For example, reading upwards for AVHRR you will see sensor 1 is in the red part of the visible spectrum, sensor 2 is just outside the red, and sensor 6 is the far end of the infra-red.
You can see that VIIRS, MODIS and SeaWiFS have quite a number of sensors spread across the visible part of the spectrum. This makes them useful for monitoring ocean colour and thus the health of our oceans.
Zoom in on the diagram using the right mouse button (in combination with the Control key on Apple Macintosh computers).
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