Aqua/Terra MODIS Satellite Fire Detections

This data collection contains near real-time active fire and thermal hotspot detections collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites.

The first MODIS integration with NASA's Terra satellite mission was launched on December 18, 1999 and is planned to end in February 2027. The second MODIS integration with NASA's Aqua satellite mission was launched on May 4, 2002 and is planned to end in September 2027. Terra's orbit around the Earth is timed so that it passes from north to south across the equator in the morning, while Aqua passes south to north over the equator in the afternoon. Terra MODIS and Aqua MODIS are viewing the entire Earth's surface every 1 to 2 days, acquiring data in 36 spectral bands, or groups of wavelengths. Near real-time (NRT) data from MODIS include land surface temperature, land surface reflectance, radiances, clouds/aerosols, water vapor, active fire, snow cover, and sea ice. They are made available by NASA's Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for Earth observation (LANCE) project generally within 60 to 125 minutes after a satellite observation, and can be accessed via the NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS).

The official landing page for this data collection can be found here: https://doi.org/10.5067/FIRMS/MODIS/MCD14DL.NRT.0061

Technical specifications for the MODIS instrument can be found here: https://ladsweb.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/missions-and-measurements/modis/

Data and Resources

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accessRights Public
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citation NASA MODIS Science Data Support Team. (2021). VIIRS (NOAA-21/JPSS-2) I Band 375 m Active Fire Product NRT (Vector data) [Dataset]. NASA LANCE MODIS at the MODAPS. https://doi.org/10.5067/FIRMS/MODIS/MCD14DL.NRT.0061 Date Accessed: 2026-08-13
cndp WSTC
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dataBboxFormat wkt
endDateTime 2027-09-01T00:00
isSpatial geospatial
isTemporal true
lang en
ndp_creator_md5 5fbc9b6d7ef314a337c2cad359f8ea0c
pocEmail lgiglio@umd.edu
pocName Louis Giglio
publisherType org
spatialCov POLYGON((-180 -80, 180 -80, 180 80, -180 80, -180 -80))
spatialCovFormat wkt
spatialCovShape rectangular
spatialCovUiFormat bounding box
spatialProjection WGS 84 (EPSG:4326)
spatialRes 1 km
startDateTime 1999-12-18T18:37:59
status submitted
temporalRes 1 Days
timezone UTC
uploadType dataset
Groups
  • NSF
  • United States
Tags
  • FIRMS
  • LANCE
  • MODIS
  • NASA
  • NSF
  • United States
  • active-fire-detection
  • aqua
  • fire
  • hotspot-detection
  • hotspots
  • near-real-time-monitoring
  • real-time
  • satellite
  • satellite-detections
  • terra
  • thermal
  • thermal-anomalies
isopen False
metadata_created 2026-10-30T17:15:45.146831
metadata_modified 2026-10-30T17:15:45.146836
notes This data collection contains near real-time active fire and thermal hotspot detections collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites. The first MODIS integration with NASA's Terra satellite mission was launched on December 18, 1999 and is planned to end in February 2027. The second MODIS integration with NASA's Aqua satellite mission was launched on May 4, 2002 and is planned to end in September 2027. Terra's orbit around the Earth is timed so that it passes from north to south across the equator in the morning, while Aqua passes south to north over the equator in the afternoon. Terra MODIS and Aqua MODIS are viewing the entire Earth's surface every 1 to 2 days, acquiring data in 36 spectral bands, or groups of wavelengths. Near real-time (NRT) data from MODIS include land surface temperature, land surface reflectance, radiances, clouds/aerosols, water vapor, active fire, snow cover, and sea ice. They are made available by NASA's Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for Earth observation (LANCE) project generally within 60 to 125 minutes after a satellite observation, and can be accessed via the NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS). The official landing page for this data collection can be found here: https://doi.org/10.5067/FIRMS/MODIS/MCD14DL.NRT.0061 Technical specifications for the MODIS instrument can be found here: https://ladsweb.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/missions-and-measurements/modis/
num_resources 6
num_tags 18
title Aqua/Terra MODIS Satellite Fire Detections