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Full catalog/VNP03MOD
VNP03MOD·v2·dataset

Where each image pixel sits on Earth (VIIRS, Suomi-NPP, 750 m)

VIIRS/NPP Moderate Resolution Terrain-Corrected Geolocation L1 6-Min Swath 750 m
deformation NASA LAADS Level 1A active netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. This is the location bookkeeping for VIIRS imagery: for every 750-m pixel it stores the exact latitude, longitude and surface height, plus the angles of the sun and the sensor and a simple land-or-water tag.

How it's made. Calculated for the Suomi-NPP VIIRS sensor by combining the satellite's position and pointing data with an Earth shape model and a terrain map, producing precise ground coordinates for each pixel.

How & where you'd use it. It tells you where each image pixel actually sits on Earth, a building-block input most people use through the finished image products rather than directly.

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 Moderate Resolution Terrain-Corrected Geolocation 6-Min L1 Swath 750 m product, short-name VNP03MOD, contains the derived line-of-sight (LOS) vectors for each of the 750-m moderate-resolution, or M-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 VNP03MOD 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

vnp03mod_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="VNP03MOD",
    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.