Spatial resolution

Overview

The spatial resolution of an optical collection or a DEM is the smallest possible pixel size that can be obtained by its sensor. The higher the spatial resolution of a given collection is, the more pixels there are per unit area, and the more detailed ground objects are.

50 cm resolution

1.50 m resolution

10 m resolution

Spatial resolution classes

Class	Range of values
Very high resolution (VHR)	≤ 50 cm
High resolution (HR)	From > 50 cm to ≤ 2 m
Medium resolution (MR)	From > 2 m to ≤ 20 m
Low resolution (LR)	> 20 m

Availability

Tasking collections

Collection	VHR	HR	MR
AxelGlobe			From 2.50 m to 5 m
Beijing-3A	50 cm	2 m
Beijing-3B	30 cm	1.20 m
BlackSky		From 83 cm to 1.30 m
EROS-B	50 cm
EROS-C	30 cm
KOMPSAT-3	50 cm	2 m
KOMPSAT-3A	40 cm	1.60 m
Near Space Labs	From 10 cm to 30 cm
Pléiades	50 cm	2 m
Pléiades Neo	30 cm	1.20 m
Satellogic		From 70 cm to 1 m
SPOT	1.50 m	6 m
TripleSat		80 cm	3.20 m
Vision-1		83 cm	3.48 m

Catalog collections

Collection	VHR	HR	MR	LR
Beijing-3A	50 cm	2 m
Hexagon	From 15 cm to 30 cm
Landsat 8				From 30 to 100 m
Near Space Labs	30 cm
NEXTMap		1 m	From 6 to 10 m
Pléiades	50 cm	2 m
Pléiades Neo	30 cm	1.20 m
Sentinel-2			From 10 to 20 m	60 m
SPOT	1.50 m	6 m
TripleSat		80 cm	3.20 m
Vexcel Aerial	From 5.5 to 20 cm
Vexcel Elevate	From 5.5 to 20 cm
WorldDEM Neo DSM			5 m

Ground sampling distance vs. spatial resolution

The spatial resolution is defined by the sensor specifications without considering the location of the object being imaged. The ground sampling distance (GSD) is the effective resolution with different constraints taken into consideration:

Geometric constraints, that is, the geometry of the object being imaged.
Mechanical constraints of the vehicle carrying the sensor — for example, its speed and altitude.

For geospatial images, the most important factors are vehicle speed, the curvature of the Earth, and the viewing angle.

As a result, the GSD only matches the spatial resolution at latitudes around the equator and at a 0° off-nadir viewing angle. For any other latitudes and viewing angles, the GSD will be greater than the spatial resolution. For example, there might be a 2.60 m GSD for a collection with a 1.50 m spatial resolution.

You can check the GSD of your asset as follows:

Open the console and go to Data management.
To find assets ordered by other account users, click My account. Otherwise, stay in My workspace.
Select an asset.
Go to Scene list and select a scene.
On the asset specification, check the Ground sampling distance (GSD) field.