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Full catalog/MOD03
MOD03·v7·dataset

Pixel location helper file (MODIS Terra)

MODIS/Terra Geolocation Fields 5-Min L1A Swath 1km V7
land NASA LAADS Level 1A active NetCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. For every pixel a MODIS satellite sees, this records exactly where on Earth it falls, the ground elevation there, and the angles of the sun and satellite. It's location bookkeeping rather than a picture of anything.

How it's made. Computed for the MODIS instrument on NASA's Terra satellite using the spacecraft's position, instrument data, and an elevation model, as a companion to the actual image data.

How & where you'd use it. A behind-the-scenes input that pairs with MODIS imagery so other products can be mapped correctly; most people use it indirectly through those finished products.

What's measured

SPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › PLATFORM CHARACTERISTICS › ATTITUDE CHARACTERISTICSSPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › PLATFORM CHARACTERISTICS › ORBITAL CHARACTERISTICSSPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › PLATFORM CHARACTERISTICS › VIEWING GEOMETRY

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2000-02-23 → ongoing
  • Measured byTerra (MODIS)
  • Processing levelLevel 1A
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsNetCDF-4
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Track deforestation, fire scars and land-cover change
  • Monitor crop and vegetation health (NDVI/EVI)
  • Map how built-up vs. green an area is over time
Official description

The Terra MODIS (Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) Level-1A (L1A) Geolocation product contains geodetic coordinates, ground elevation, and solar and satellite zenith and azimuth angles for the center of each MODIS 1-km pixel at nadir. These data serve as a companion dataset to the Level-1B calibrated radiances (MOD02) and the higher-level products to enable further processing. These geolocation fields are determined using data inputs from the spacecraft attitude and orbit, instrument telemetry, and a digital elevation model. the Terra MODIS 1-km Geolocation product whose short-name is MOD03. The MOD03 Science Data Sets (SDS) describe the range of information provided for each 1-km pixel’s Instantaneous Field of View (IFOV). In addition, a range of other information attributes (quality, offsets, observation start-time, etc.) exist as well. The v7.0 Terra MODIS MOD03 in netCDF4 format represents the most current version of this product that has undergone around half-a-dozen reprocessing cycles in the last 2.5 decades. Each 1-km swath granule or data-file temporally spans 5 minutes and its nominal image dimensions measure 2,030 lines (along-track direction) by 1,354 samples (cross-track direction). The v7.0 collection’s data record starts from February 24, 2000 (2000–055).

Get the data

mod03_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="MOD03",
    version="7",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from LAADS
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.