SATELLITES OVER
OJAI
An Ojai Valley Mapping
Project
Matilija Jr. High
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Over the past several years, NASA has been busily photographing the Earth from space. These pictures have given us many new and exciting perspectives on our own planet. Everyone has experienced the thrill of seeing an "earthrise" above the moon's surface. Now we are able to use satellite imagery to discover new information about our own communities. In the photograph above--taken from a Landsat satellite 5 miles above the earth's surface--you can see many of Ojai's more prominent features. Can you find Matilija Junior High School? How did you pinpoint its location? Which golf course looks like it gets more water--the Soule Park golf course or the Ojai Valley Inn golf course?
Wouldn't it be great if you could use map overlays to find specific locations, then zoom in on the photograph to get a street view of the location? What if you could click on these images to bring up additional information? Wouldn't it be fun to fly around the valley to get a bird's eye view? You will be creating these experiences for yourself and for others. Everyone who visits your web site will leave with just one comment: "Cool!"
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You will be using space data from NASA to create a mini web site that will allow your visitors to view Ojai from space, perform low-level fly-by's around various areas of the valley, and zoom in on points of interest anywhere in our community. You will also use your space images to create thematic map overlays that will direct the visitor to places of interest. These maps can locate "historical sites," "Ojai schools," or even "great skateboarding spots."
In the process of completing this project you will learn how to:
Here is a listing of resources you can use in constructing your project. Some of these are contained on your school's server, others are located on the world wide web.
PhotoShop Image processing software for editing digital photos and creating map overlays
Scion Image Image processing software for mapping distances on an image
Nodester Stitches digital images together to create a Quicktime VR 360 degree virtual photo.
VistaPro 3-D modeling software for creating fly-bys and 3-D maps.
DataSlate Program with Ojai images for analysis
HomePage Building web pages
Steven Adams works at JPL for the Consortium for the Application of Space Data to Education. His page Cities of Ventura County (http://www-dial.jpl.nasa.gov/~steven/ventura/g0.html) contains many space images of Ventura County, including two from Ojai.
NASA has many high resolution photographs of the earth's surface. You may want to download one or two of the United States, California, and Southern California to help guide users to the Ojai space photos.
High Resolution NASA Photos (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/pictures/hi-res/mpe.html)
Low Resolution NASA Photos (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/pictures/browse/mpe.html)
Earth From Space (NASA) (http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov)
NASA Video Gallery (http://www.nasa.gov/gallery/video/index.html)
On the server you will find several files:
DEM Files for Ventura County and Ojai
NASA High Resolution files for Ventura County and Ojai
Aerial photos of Ojai
1. Create a folder on your desktop called "WebSite." You will use this folder to store all the html and graphics files used in your project. Inside your "Web Site" folder, create another folder called "graphics."
2. In your "graphics" folder, place all your Ojai DEM files, your Ojai high resolution space photo files, your scanned Ojai aerial photos, and any other graphic files you may want to use. Make sure these are all jpeg or gif files.
DataSlateThis remarkable tool allows one to compare two sets of data for the same geographic region. The first data set is a Landsat map of the Ojai Valley. There are also coregistered geology maps, infrared maps, and radar maps of the same area. To acquaint you with space photographs of the Ojai Valley, take a look at the DataSlate images. You may also wish to explore some of the other image sets available. To run Data Slate, minimize this browser window and run DataSlate from your "C" drive. |
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1. Run Photoshop and open the Ojai space photo.
2. Create a new layer on top of the background space photo.
3. Use drawing tools to trace over space photo and create a thematic map.
4. Open your map in Scion Image and use its measurement tools to create a scale and map out several distances.
1. Open VistaPro imaging software.
2. Select "Open Landscape" from the File menu. Find the Ojai DEM file in your "graphics" folder.
3. Under the Image menu, Load colors and select Ojai Space Photo.
4. Use VistaPro to create a fly-by through a part of your Ojai Valley.
For each phase of this project, you will be given an evaluation rubric.
Congratulations! You have now demonstrated advanced computer imaging skills. Not only have you downloaded space imagery off the internet, but you have manipulated it in a variety of digital imagery programs and have used this imagery to discover something new about the world.
Based on a template from The Webquest Page.
