The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument provides a unique view of Earth, obtaining radiance, aerosol, cloud and land surface data from nine cameras at different angles and four wavelengths. A new web-based tool is being developed to allow interactive creation of images from MISR data files.

The MISR imaging tool allows users to specify the area, time period, and camera angles of interest and then view browse images matching those criteria. The browse images are lower resolution renderings of MISR radiances that use the red, green, and blue wavelength data to create a true color image. From the browse images, users can determine which of the data are truly of interest, taking into account cloud cover and other variables that affect the usability of a particular scene. Chosen scenes can then be selected to be rendered ashigher resolution images with appropriate stretching applied. The final image processing is done off-line and an e-mail is sent with instructions for downloading the resulting high resolution image file.

A database of previously created imagery will be maintained and users can also browse and select from these existing images.

The MISR imaging tool uses the Interactive Data Language (IDL) and IDL on the Net (ION) software, from Research Systems, Inc., combined with java code, to handle both the graphical user interface and the background image processing.

Further information about MISR and the imaging tool is available at http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov.