Research news on hyperspectral imaging

Hyperspectral imaging is an analytical method that acquires images across hundreds of contiguous, narrow spectral bands, typically spanning visible to shortwave infrared wavelengths, to capture detailed spectral signatures at each spatial pixel. Using dispersive optics or tunable filters coupled with calibrated detectors, it generates a three-dimensional datacube (two spatial and one spectral dimension). This enables pixel-wise reflectance or emittance spectra to be extracted and subjected to multivariate analysis, spectral unmixing, and classification algorithms. Hyperspectral imaging is widely used to discriminate materials, quantify chemical composition, and detect subtle spatial heterogeneities in fields such as remote sensing, biomedical imaging, materials characterization, and environmental monitoring.

NASA's PACE mission studies smoke and fires

With the North American fire season underway, and a record number of acres already burned nationwide, NASA's Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite's three instruments are observing vegetation precursors ...

ESA selects two new scout-class missions

When it comes to understanding Earth and our changing environment, space is the place. Not only does it give us an overall holistic view of the planet below, but satellite-based imagery can transcend national boundaries and ...

First sky map from NASA's SPHEREx observatory

NASA's SPHEREx Observatory has mapped the entire sky in 102 infrared colors, as seen here in this image released on Dec. 18, 2025. This image features a selection of colors emitted primarily by stars (blue, green, and white), ...

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