Accessing Landsat 8 Data through DevelopmentSeed’s Libra Portal

Libra is a very useful browser for open Landsat 8 satellite imagery. You can use it to browse, filter, sort, and download imagery for the entire planet.  Libra was developed by DevelopmentSeed, an engineering team solving complex problems with open software and open data, and AstroDigital, a company focused on providing imagery analyzed in real time and streamed to applications via their API.

Libra’s map interface is one of the most straightforward and useful that I’ve ever seen for imagery as evidenced in the screenshot below.  On the interface, each circle on the map represents the number of available images at that location. Filters at the top of the map can be used to select a date range, cloud cover percentage, and sun azimuth angle. Bundled downloads are available within one week of the image being taken. Individual bands are available for all 2015 scenes.

Once your download is complete, the site organizers recommend Landsat-util for processing the raw image and getting it ready for publication and analysis.  Search results are powered by Landsat 8 Metadata API and images from USGS Earth Explorer. Downloads are provided via Google Earth Engine and Amazon Web Services.

More information and the official announcement about this resource can be found here.   Give it a try and let us know what you think.

Interface for the Libra Development Seed Landsat Site.