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Full catalog/VNP03IMG
VNP03IMG·v2·dataset

Where each image pixel sits on Earth (VIIRS, Suomi-NPP)

VIIRS/NPP Imagery Resolution Terrain Corrected Geolocation 6-Min L1 Swath 375 m
deformation NASA LAADS Level 1A active netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. The precise Earth location of every pixel in the matching VIIRS image product: latitude, longitude, ground height, and the angles to the sun and the sensor, along with a land-or-water marker for each spot.

How it's made. Computed for the Suomi-NPP VIIRS instrument by combining a model of Earth's shape and terrain with the satellite's exact position and pointing to pin each pixel to the ground.

How & where you'd use it. A behind-the-scenes companion file that tells other tools exactly where each image pixel falls on the map. It is a building-block input used together with the imagery rather than viewed on its own.

What's measured

SOLID EARTH › GEODETICSSOLID EARTH › GEODETICS › COORDINATE REFERENCE SYSTEMSPECTRAL/ENGINEERING › SENSOR CHARACTERISTICS › VIEWING GEOMETRY

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2012-01-19 → ongoing
  • Measured bySuomi-NPP (VIIRS)
  • Processing levelLevel 1A
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Measure ground motion and subsidence (InSAR)
  • Track earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides
  • Map elevation and terrain change
Official description

The VIIRS/NPP Imagery Resolution Terrain-Corrected Geolocation 6-Min L1 Swath 375m, short-name VNP03IMG, product contains the derived line-of-sight (LOS) vectors for each of the 375-m image-resolution or I-bands. The geolocation algorithm uses a number of inputs that include an Earth ellipsoid, geoid, and a digital terrain model along with the SNPP platform’s ephemeris and attitude data, and knowledge of the VIIRS sensor and satellite geometry. It produces geodetic coordinates (latitude and longitude), and related parameters for each VIIRS L1 pixel. The VNP03IMG product includes geodetic latitude, longitude, surface height above the geoid, solar zenith and azimuth angles, sensor zenith and azimuth angles, land/water mask, and quality flag for every pixel location.

Get the data

vnp03img_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="VNP03IMG",
    version="2",
    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.