VJ203DNB_NRT: Near-Real-Time VIIRS Day/Night Band Geolocation Data

Near Real Time (NRT) data from the JPSS-2/NOAA-21 satellite's VIIRS Day/Night Band provides terrain-corrected geolocation for each 750m pixel in 6-minute swaths. The product includes geodetic latitude, longitude, surface height, solar/lunar/sensor angles, a land/water mask, moon illumination data, and a quality flag. On-orbit validation corrected geolocation errors, bringing uncertainties to within 75 meters (1-sigma) in both along-scan and along-track directions.

Use Cases

• Nighttime light detection and monitoring based on the Day/Night Band (DNB) sensor data.
• Precise terrain correction for satellite imagery analysis using the derived surface height above the geoid.
• Atmospheric and lunar correction modeling using the solar, lunar, and sensor zenith/azimuth angles.
• Land/water classification and masking for environmental studies based on the included land/water flag.

Strengths

• Provides high-precision geolocation with corrected uncertainties within 75 meters (1-sigma).
• Includes a wide array of geophysical parameters (e.g., lunar angles, moon illumination) relevant for low-light analysis.
• Data is available in Near Real Time (NRT), supporting time-sensitive applications.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided across platforms.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without explicit terms.
• The dataset's spatial and temporal coverage is not explicitly defined.

Provenance

Source

NASA VIIRS instrument on the Joint Polar-orbiting Satellite System-2 (JPSS-2/NOAA-21) platform, processed by LANCEMODIS.

Collection Method

Derived from satellite ephemeris, attitude data, sensor geometry, and digital terrain models.

Time Range

Near Real Time (NRT); specific start date not provided.

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:01:46.331508

Geography

Global swath coverage; specific regions not defined.