What is Remote Sensing?   Source: http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/   Remote sensing is the science of acquiring, processing, and interpreting images that record the interaction between electromagnetic energy and matter. Aerial photographs were the first remotely sensed images and remain the most widely used today for interpretation of landforms.   False-color, IR aerial photograph- scale 1:8,000 Source: http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Images obtained from orbitting satellites were first introduced in 1960. The polar-orbiting TIROS 1 satellite was launched by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to monitor the property and patterns of clouds. TIROS-1 SATELLITE 1960 FIRST TIROS-1 IMAGE Source: www.space.com/news/spacehistory/tiros_anniversary_000330.html Satellite images acquired 40 years later have much greater resolution and digital manipulation capabilities.