Remote Sensing and GIS:A Management Perspective

Remote sensing is a technique to observe the earth surface or the atmosphere from out of space using satellites or from the air using aircrafts. Remote sensing uses a part or several parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. It records the electromagnetic energy reflected or emitted by the earth's surface. In remote sensing various kinds of tools and devices are used to make electromagnetic radiation outside this range from 400 to 700 nm visible to the human eye, especially the near infrared, middle-infrared, thermal-infrared and microwaves. The aim of remote sensing is to generate the spatial data which can be used for various purposes. The handling of spatial data usually involves processes of data acquisition, storage and maintenance, analysis and output. For many years, this has been done using analogue data sources and manual processing. The introduction of modern technologies has led to an increased use of computers and information technology in all aspects of spatial data handling. The software technology used in this domain is Geographic Information Systems (GIS). GIS is being used by various disciplines as tools for spatial data handling in a geographic environment. This article deals with introduction of the remote sensing and GIS to a common man.