Earth Observation Fundamentals

How satellites see the Earth, explained without assuming any prior GIS knowledge

Earth Observation Fundamentals
Beginner Remote Sensing 7 lessons Samuel Appiah Kubi

About this course

A no-code foundation for everything else in this curriculum. You'll learn what a satellite actually measures, why some satellites see through cloud and others don't, and how to read what you're looking at in a satellite image before you ever touch Python. Every concept is grounded in a real African example — the Odaw flood, the cocoa belt, Lake Volta — so the theory always connects to something you could plausibly need to do.

What you'll learn

  • Explain, in plain language, what optical and radar (SAR) satellites each measure
  • Name the key Sentinel and Landsat missions and what each is good for
  • Explain why free satellite data exists and who provides it
  • Look at a satellite image and correctly identify water, vegetation, bare soil and buildings
  • Choose the right satellite for a task based on resolution and revisit trade-offs

Requirements

  • No coding required
  • Basic geography (you should know what a river basin or a coastline is)

Course content

Why Satellites Matter for Africa Preview 14 min
The Electromagnetic Spectrum, in Terms That Matter for EO 18 min
Spatial and Temporal Resolution: The Trade-off You Can't Avoid 16 min

Sentinel-1 (SAR): Seeing Through Clouds and Darkness 20 min
Sentinel-2 (Multispectral): Your Optical Workhorse 22 min
Landsat: the 50-Year Archive Nothing Else Can Match 18 min

Real Applications: Floods, Crops, Forests, Cities 24 min
Free
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  • LevelBeginner
  • Lessons7
  • CertificateYes
  • AccessLifetime

Samuel Appiah Kubi Instructor