What is a satellite? A satellite is a man-made object that is sent into orbit around the Earth, or around another planet or celestial body. The purpose of a satellite can vary depending on its design and mission, but generally, they are used for a variety of tasks such as: When people talk about Multispectral…

The Difference between Vector and Raster Data in GIS In this article, we will cover the fundamental differences between raster and vector data. Geospatial data can be represented using either vector data type or raster. The two data types are very different in their internal representation, the operations you can do on them as well…

What is a Bearing? A bearing is a direction of one point relative to another point, usually given as an angle measured clockwise from north. In navigation, bearings are often used to determine the direction to a destination or to plot a course on a map. There are two main types of bearings: absolute bearing…

How Thermal Imaging is Used in GIS Like an x-ray for temperature, thermal imaging has many applications both on and around the Earth. For many of us, our first exposure to thermal imagery was likely in a science class where you got to play around with looking at a rainbow depiction of your face or…

What is a Map? A map is defined as a representation of the physical characteristics of a place. They provide a wealth of information and help us navigate from one place to another. As you can imagine from this definition, maps may take many different forms. Types of Maps Today, maps are grouped into either…

An Introduction to Geospatial Database Management We live in an increasingly spatially aware world. Many of the decisions we make are based on location. Location data helps us to answer everyday questions like “Will my new apartment be close enough to the grocery store?”, “Where is the nearest park to walk my dog”, “What route…

The difference between Geography and Geometry Before we dive too deep, you might want to check out these resources: Geometry Data Type In SQL, the GEOMETRY data type represents data in a two-dimensional Cartesian plane. It can store points, lines, and polygons, as well as more complex shapes like circles and rectangles. The GEOGRAPHY data…

The role of GIS emergency management The purpose of this post is to provide a broad overview of the role of GIS emergency management and not an exhaustive list of all of the possible application! For a more in-depth discussion around the question of “What Is GIS“ click here Also, check out this podcast/article on…

Preparation is the key Preparation is key to acing a job interview, and this is especially true for those seeking positions in broad technical fields like GIS. To make the most of your interview, it’s important to research the company, review the job description, practice common interview questions, prepare questions to ask the interviewer, dress…

The truth is GIS is a subset of Geospatial let’s start off by defining GIS Depending on how you view the world GIS can either mean Geographic Information Systems or Geographic Information Science (GIScience) Geographic Information Systems Here the focus is on the system, the infrastructure that is designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage,…