multispectral scanning systems

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multispectral scanning systems The simultaneous use of several different sensors to obtain images or spectral information from various portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. An example was the multispectral scanner on the Landsat Earth-orbiting satellites, which simultaneously recorded green, red, and two infrared spectral bands. Since different materials (e.g. soil, rock, vegetation) reflect differing amounts of light at different wavelengths, they can be identified by their characteristic spectral ‘signatures’.