Satellite Photo Analysis
IT 353 Information Defense Technologies Spring 2024 Homework 4 – version 1.0 This is an INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT. You must NOT discuss the information you are assigned for this assignment nor your efforts to complete it with any person other than the Instructor/s and/or an assigned Teaching Assistant. The objective of this assignment is: To determine the height of a structure from a satellite image of it, using freely-available tools. The estimated time required for this assignment for a typical student is 1 hour. The time required for each individual student will vary according to that student’s abilities, work practices and familiarity with the subject matter. Preparing Your Submission For this assignment you will create a Microsoft® Word document file (or a file in a format that is compatible with Word). The file extension must be “.doc”, “.docx” (as shown below), or “.rtf”. Note: OpenDocument Format (“.odt”) files are not accepted. Hint: Change your operating system settings so that file extensions are shown. WARNING: Do not simply change a file extension – create the file correctly. Any assignment submitted in a format other than as described above will not be graded. The name of your file must be “IT-353-202410-xxx-HW4-userid.ext”, where xxx is your section number (001, DL1, DL2, or DL3), userid is your Mason NetID (as used to log into Blackboard), and ext is the file extension (see above for allowed extensions), e.g. “IT-353-202410-001-HW4-jjones9.docx”. Use of the correct filename is essential to ensure your file is not overwritten when downloaded. Failure to use the correct filename will result in a 1-point deduction in the score. If your system is configured to hide file extensions, please ensure you do not end up with two. Check the actual filename, not just what is shown by default. You may format your document as you wish, but keep in mind that the quality of your work is part of the evaluation process – see Q13. Use single spacing for text within a paragraph – double-spacing within paragraphs will be penalized by a deduction in the score. Copyright © 2024 Michael X. Lyons. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 14 Number your answers to correspond with the numbered questions. If it is not obvious to the grader which question is being answered you will receive no credit for an un-numbered answer. As a courtesy to those who will read your document please save it with the “view size” set to 100%. Include the following elements at the beginning of your document: Your full name as it shown in PatriotWeb. Your Mason G Number. The course number (IT 353) and section number (001, DL1, DL2, or DL3). The semester (Spring 2024). The assignment title (Homework 4). Provide these elements as text in the body of your document, or in a first-page-only header, not in a header that is repeated on each page. Use single spacing between these elements. Do not use a full-page header, just show these elements before your first answer. Failure to provide the required elements as described will be penalized by a deduction in the score. Important Notices This is an individual assignment – it is not to be completed in groups or teams of students. If you receive assistance from any person (including an Instructor or a Teaching Assistant), in preparing and/or completing this assignment, other than these directions and any instructions given in class or in Blackboard, you must acknowledge that assistance (see Q12). Treat the data you retrieve and process below as strictly confidential. If you share any of the data you calculate for this assignment with another student before both of you have had this assignment graded you may be referred to the Honor Committee on a charge of cheating. WARNING: Do NOT restate the question or repeat the question title before providing an answer in your document. Restating the questions or repeating the question titles will cause a high percentage match figure in SafeAssign and create unnecessary work for the person/s grading your assignment. Restating the questions and/or repeating the question titles will be penalized by a deduction in the score. NOTE: For this assignment you must use only the features of the tools as described in these directions. Do not attempt to identify the real world structure nor use any reference sources to obtain information on the structure, except as described below. For this assignment your challenge is to work with limited data – you will receive full credit for completing the process correctly, even if your final answer is not close to the “real” height of your structure. Copyright © 2024 Michael X. Lyons. All rights reserved. Page 2 of 14 Q1. It is important that you read and understand all the directions for this assignment. If you are not sure what is required, check Blackboard Discussions or contact the Instructor. Once you have read this entire document include the following statement as your answer to this question: I have read and understood all the directions for this assignment, especially Q12. It is not necessary to quote, cite and reference the text of your statement since it is part of the directions for this assignment. (1 point) Satellite Photo Analysis In a recent lecture we discussed photographic reconnaissance from satellites. In this assignment you will have the opportunity to analyze a satellite image and attempt to determine the height of a structure shown in the image, using only freely-available tools. The scenario for this assignment is as follows: You are an intelligence analyst working for your nation’s government. Your agency has obtained a satellite image that appears to show an unusual structure in a potential adversary’s territory. Other analysts have determined the geographic location of the structure, and the date on which the photo was taken, but you do not know the time of day on which it was taken. Preliminary analysis indicates the structure is much taller than surrounding structures. It appears to be a chimney for an industrial plant, but there is concern that it could be an intercontinental ballistic missile, or some other type of long-range weapon. Your task is to estimate the height of the structure using only the data and tools described in these directions. NOTE: To avoid errors you should copy-and-paste data values between applications. Do not attempt to type data values manually. No allowance will be made for errors caused by use of incorrect values. Copyright © 2024 Michael X. Lyons. All rights reserved. Page 3 of 14 Required software For this assignment you MUST use the application named Google Earth Pro on desktop, available for free at https://www.google.com/earth/about/versions/#earth-pro . The software is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux operating systems. The directions that follow were developed using the Windows version. If you are using another version there may be slight differences, but it should be easy to find the equivalent functions. NOTE: You CANNOT use Google Earth on Web nor Google Earth on mobile. Those versions do NOT have some tools needed for this assignment. If you do not use the correct version of the application you will receive a score of zero for this assignment. If you use the application on a computer that is used by anyone else you must be VERY CAREFUL not to disclose your work nor look at anyone else’s work. See the Syllabus for more information on Honor Code requirements. Q2. Assigned data Each student will be assigned a unique data set for this assignment. The data sets have been posted to Blackboard. The data set consists of the coordinates for a location on the surface of the Earth, in the form of a latitude value and a longitude value, in that order, and a date formatted as [m]m/[d]d/yyyy where [m]m is the month as a 1- or 2-digit integer, [d]d is the day as a 1- or 2-digit integer, and yyyy is the year as a 4-digit integer. Note: Latitudes are northerly or southerly (except the equator is neither) and longitudes are easterly or westerly (except the prime meridian is neither). Do not confuse these values! Show the data assigned to you, and the date-time you retrieved them from Blackboard, as in this example: My coordinates are 12°34’56.78″N, 78°56’34.12″W. My image date is 12/31/2024. I retrieved them at 23:59 p.m. on December 31, 2024. WARNING: You must use only the data set assigned to you. Use of another student’s data set is a violation of the Honor Code. WARNING: Use of example values shown in these directions, rather than the data assigned to you, will result in a score of zero for any related questions. (2 points) Copyright © 2024 Michael X. Lyons. All rights reserved. Page 4 of 14 Q3. Find your assigned location Start Google Earth Pro on Desktop. Maximize the view, i.e. make it fill the screen. In the lower left corner there is a section with a heading Layers. You may need to open it. Immediately under it uncheck the box next to Primary database. This will turn off all unnecessary features and make it easier to complete your task. Leave this setting unchecked while completing this assignment. You must not use any information that identifies places or objects. Do NOT attempt to identify the structure nor find any information about it except as directed in this assignment. Under the Tools menu at the top select Options …. Select the tab 3-D View. Under Show Lat/Long select Decimal Degrees and then click OK. Near the top left is a section with a heading Search. You may need to open it. Enter your assigned coordinates into the box and click Search. When the image in the main part of the window stops moving click the Add Placemark button just above the image – its icon looks like a yellow pushpin with a plus sign above and to the right. Change the Name: attribute of the placemark to IT 353 xxx netid where “xxx” is your section number (001, DL1, DL2, or DL3) and “netid” is your Mason NetID (as used to login to Blackboard). Note that the application has converted your coordinates from degrees/minutes/seconds to decimal degrees. By convention northerly latitudes are positive, southerly latitudes are negative, and easterly longitudes are positive, westerly longitudes are negative. Click OK to save the placemark. The placemark should be at the base of (or very close to the base of) a tall structure. You may need to change the image date as described in the next step to see it clearly. If you are unable to see a structure contact Prof. Lyons using Blackboard, Tools, Send Email, Select Users, (select him) with subject “Homework 4 – cannot see a structure”; otherwise confirm that entering your coordinates into the application takes you to an appropriate image by providing the following statement, showing your coordinates in decimal degrees (as in the example below), not in degrees, minutes, seconds (which is the format of the coordinates assigned to you), with the latitude followed by the longitude, as in this example: I am able to see a tall structure at 12.582439°, –78.942811°. (5 points) Copyright © 2024 Michael X. Lyons. All rights reserved. Page 5 of 14 Q4. Retrieve an image Click the Show historical imagery […] button just above the image – its icon looks like a clock face with a green arrow moving counter-clockwise. You should now see a box at the top left of the image with a slider that allows you to select images of your location taken on different dates. When you move your cursor around in the middle of an image the image date is shown in the status bar to the right of the text “Imagery Date:”. This date may not agree with the month and year shown near the slider. Use the slider to find the image with the date assigned to you. That image should clearly show the base of the structure and a shadow with the top clearly visible and well defined. Some portion(s) of the shadow may be obscured – that is OK. If you are unable to find an image with your assigned date or the image does not clearly show the base of the structure and its shadow contact Prof. Lyons as described above; otherwise confirm that you can see an appropriate image, as in this example: I am able to see the base of the structure and the top of its shadow in the image dated 12/31/2024. (2 points) Copyright © 2024 Michael X. Lyons. All rights reserved. Page 6 of 14 Q5. Measure the shadow cast by the structure Ensure the application is maximized, i.e. fills the entire screen. Rotate, zoom, and slide your image so that the shadow cast by the structure is as large as possible within the main window of the application. The tip of the shadow must be very close to (almost touching) a corner of the window, and the far side of the base of the structure must be very close to the opposite corner, so the base and shadow lie along a diagonal of the main window. The accuracy of your measurements will be reduced if you do not zoom your image as much as possible while keeping the shadow within the bounds of the image. Failure to rotate, zoom, and slide the image as described above will result in a reduced score. Click the “Show Ruler” button just above the image – its icon looks like a vertical blue ruler. Select the “Line” tab in the window that pops up. Set the “Map length” option to Meters. The base of the structure is circular. Click the image in the center (not an edge) of the base – estimate the center point as best you can. Make sure you are measuring from the center of the base, not from the edge closest to the shadow. Click again at the tip of the shadow. Make sure you measure your shadow angle from the base of the structure to the tip of the shadow (not in the other direction). Also make sure you measure only the shadow of the structure and not anything else that might also be casting a shadow in the same area, e.g. a cloud. The narrow yellow line for your measurement should be exactly down the middle of the shadow – if not, adjust the starting point to the center of the base. Show the Ground length and Heading values from the tool, as in this example: Ground length: 123.45 meters Heading: 234.56° Show your values with 2 decimal places as shown in the tool. Do not drop trailing zeroes. Be sure to show the unit for each value (“meters”, degree symbol). (4 points) Copyright © 2024 Michael X. Lyons. All rights reserved. Page 7 of 14 Q6. Capture a screen shot of your application Make sure the Google Earth Pro on desktop application is maximized (see above). (i.e. make it fill the entire screen of your computer). Under the “View” menu, if your version of Google has an option “Tour Guide”, de-select it so that it does not appear and cover up the lower portion of the main screen. With the image positioned as for Q5, and with the “Show Ruler” tool positioned so it does not obscure the shadow but is showing the measurements for Q5, capture a “screen shot” of the application window (not the entire screen). (Research how to do this for your operating system if you do not know how to do it.) Paste your screen shot into your document, scaled so that it fits within the left and right margins, as in this example: (5 points) Copyright © 2024 Michael X. Lyons. All rights reserved. Page 8 of 14 Q7. Calculate the solar azimuth for the shadow cast by the structure The solar azimuth is the true bearing (direction) of the sun at the time of your image. This will be exactly opposite the heading of the shadow as measured in Q5. Add or subtract 180° from the Heading you measured in Q5, to derive an azimuth value in the range 0° to less than 360°: – if the heading is less than 180° then add 180° to it; – if the heading is greater than or equal to 180° then subtract 180° from it. Show your calculation and the result, as in this example: Solar azimuth: 234.56° – 180° = 54.56° (2 points) Q8. Determine the local standard time meridian for your location For Q9 you need to know the time difference between your location’s local standard time meridian and Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The local standard time meridian is the closest multiple of 15° longitude to your location in relation to the prime meridian (the North-South line which passes through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England, which is defined as 0° longitude). Note: Time zones are geopolitical creations; many time zones are centered on local standard time meridians, but some are not. Meridians are often expressed as the number of hours difference from Greenwich time, rather than as degrees. This is the convention we use below. Calculate the local standard time meridian for your location as follows: – if your longitude in decimal degrees (from Q3) is negative then subtract 7.5° from it, otherwise add 7.5° to it – in either case you are increasing the absolute value by 7.5°; – divide the adjusted value by 15°, and show the result to 6 decimal places; – round towards 0 (down if positive, up if negative), i.e. drop the fractional part. (If your result is already an exact number of hours it will not change when rounded.) Show your calculations, as in this example: Longitude: -77.777777° Adjusted: -77.777777° – 7.5° = -85.277777 Divided: -85.277777° / 15° ≈ -5.685185 Rounded: -5.685185 → -5 The local standard time meridian for my location is –5 hours. If your result is positive show it with a leading “+”, e.g. “+3 hours”. (4 points) Copyright © 2024 Michael X. Lyons. All rights reserved. Page 9 of 14 Q9. Determine the time of day of the image and the elevation angle of the Sun Given the date on which the image was taken you can determine the time of day on which it was taken by using the azimuth angle of the Sun. Browse to https://gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/ . Under Location enter the Latitude and Longitude of your location, in decimal degrees. Under Time Zone select the entry like “Etc/GMTxxx” where xxx is the negative of the value you calculated in Q8 (e.g. “Etc/GMT+5” for the example value –5 from Q8). The UTC Offset should now be the same as your answer for Q8. Do not attempt to set the UTC Offset value manually. Under Date enter the Day, Month, and Year of your image date (from Q4 – not the current date, and not the date on which you retrieved the image). Adjust the Local Time under Date until the left box under Az/El (in °) at Local Time: is exactly the same as the solar azimuth you calculated in Q7. Do not check the PM box. Note: Be careful not to confuse positive and negative values. Changing the sign of your result (e.g. by dropping the negative sign) will give incorrect results in subsequent calculations. The right box under Az/El (in °) at Local Time: is now the elevation angle of the Sun for your location, for the date and time you have selected. Check that your calculation makes sense. The time of day must be consistent with the angle of the shadow as shown in your image, the Apparent Sunrise must be early in the morning and the Apparent Sunset must be late in the afternoon, and the Elevation angle must be positive (otherwise the Sun is at or below the horizon and there cannot be a visible shadow of finite length) and less than 90° (it can’t be more, and if it is exactly 90° then there is no shadow). Check the box Show Azimuth. This will show a line on the map above. Compare the angle of the line shown to the angle of the shadow in your image, and make sure they appear to show the same angle. Show the date in the format used in the example below, the local time in 24-hour format without trailing “AM” or “PM”, the azimuth, and the elevation for your closest match to the azimuth, as in this example: Date: Local time: Azimuth: Elevation: January 1, 1999 11:59:59 55.55° 43.21° Note that the azimuth shown here is from the Web form, not your answer to Q7. You should be able to match the azimuth and the elevation exactly.) Show the elevation to 2 decimal places, even if the Web form shows fewer. (20 points) Copyright © 2024 Michael X. Lyons. All rights reserved. Page 10 of 14 Q10. Capture a screen shot of your application Maximize your browser window for the form you used in Q9. Scroll the browser window so that it shows the entire form, from Location at top left to Show Azimuth at bottom right. Adjust the zoom factor so that the form is shown without empty space on the top, bottom, or sides, as in the example below. Capture a “screen shot” of the application window (not the entire screen). (Research how to do this for your operating system if you do not know how to do it.) Paste your screen shot into your document, and stretch it diagonally so that it fits exactly within the left and right margins, as in this example: (10 points) Copyright © 2024 Michael X. Lyons. All rights reserved. Page 11 of 14 Q11. Determine the height of your structure Given the horizontal length of the shadow and the elevation angle of the sun for that date and time you can use trigonometry to determine the height of the structure. Assume the structure is perfectly vertical and the shadow is perfectly horizontal. See the relevant lecture to determine the appropriate trigonometric function that will allow you to derive the vertical height given the horizontal length and the angle above the horizontal. Calculate the height of your structure. Check your result! Near the middle of the day in summer the sun will be very high in the sky and the shadow will be very short relative to height of your structure. In the early morning or late afternoon the shadow will be very long relative to the height. In winter the Sun does not rise very high in moderate latitudes, even at midday; at high latitudes it does not rise at all for several weeks or months. Show your shadow length (from Q5), elevation angle (from Q9), trigonometric calculation, and your result, as in this example which uses a fictitious function xxx: Shadow length: 200 m Elevation angle: 15° Structure height: 123.45 m × xxx(15.67°) = 123.45 m × 0.5678 ≈ 70.09 m Note: You need to determine the appropriate trigonometric function. Be sure your trigonometric function calculation takes the angle in degrees, not radians. Some applications assume angles to be in radians by default. For full credit you must show the second line of the calculation with the value of the trigonometric function. Round your trigonometric function result to 4 decimal places and your final result to 2 decimal places, as in the example above. Check that your answer makes sense. The object for which you are estimating a height is a very tall man-made structure. If your estimated height is not very tall, or is incredibly tall, go back and check your work. Hint: Your structure height is in the range 250-450 meters. (20 points) Copyright © 2024 Michael X. Lyons. All rights reserved. Page 12 of 14 Acknowledgments Q12. Include one of the following statements as your answer to this question: Except as explicitly acknowledged above, I did not receive any assistance from any other person in preparing and completing this assignment. OR In addition to the reference sources explicitly acknowledged above, I received assistance in preparing and completing this assignment as follows: Name: Title/Relationship: Organization: Assistance given: If you received assistance from anyone, use the second statement and complete the last 4 lines. If you received assistance from more than one person, repeat the last 4 lines as needed. (If the assistance given was in Blackboard Discussions for this course section, it is not necessary to acknowledge it here.) (No points, but you will receive zero credit for this entire assignment if you do not complete this section as directed.) Q13. All students are expected to be able to write in a professional manner. Spelling, grammar, clarity of expression, visual quality and clear, concise, effective communication are important aspects of your written work. The quality of your submission will be evaluated in addition to the content you produce. Use a fixed-width font (e.g. Courier New, as in the examples above) where appropriate to make your message data and calculations easy to read. DO NOT write your entire assignment in a fixed-width font, as it makes regular text hard to read. – Failure to use a fixed-width font where appropriate, or use of a fixed-width font for regular text, will be penalized by a deduction in the score. As IT students you are expected to be able to use relevant features of a word-processing application where appropriate. – Obvious spelling and/or grammatical errors (that should have been detected by the spelling and grammar-checking functions of a word processing application) will be penalized by a deduction in the score. Copyright © 2024 Michael X. Lyons. All rights reserved. Page 13 of 14 Include the following statement as your answer to this question: I understand that the quality of my work will be one of the factors assessed for this assignment. (Points will be deducted for poor quality work. 5 points will be deducted if this statement is not included.) Submitting Your Assignment Submit your file to Blackboard under Assignments, Homework 4. That page shows the due date-time for this assignment. Make sure you have uploaded the file and submitted it as your assignment. Your assignment is not considered submitted unless you have completed all required steps. Do NOT send your file to your Instructor nor the Teaching Assistant in any manner other than as directed here, unless directed by your Instructor. Your assignment will not be graded unless you submit it as directed here. As described in the Syllabus, late submissions will receive partial credit or no credit. Honor Code See the Syllabus for this course for the Honor Code requirements for this assignment, in addition to those requirements explicitly stated above. Copyright © 2024 Michael X. Lyons. All rights reserved. Page 14 of 14
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