Category: Processing and quality
Composite
A composite is a mosaic built over a time window, often selecting the “best” pixel per location.
Also known as: temporal composite, best-pixel composite
Expanded definition
Composites typically select pixels across days or weeks to reduce cloud impact, for example by choosing the least cloudy observation or a percentile value.
Composites improve coverage but can hide when change happened. If you need event timing, prefer per-date products or document the compositing window clearly.
When citing a composite product, it is important to state the time window and selection rule, not just the output date.
Related terms
Mosaic
A mosaic combines multiple scenes into one continuous image covering a larger area or time window.
Gap Filling
Gap filling estimates missing values in time series caused by clouds, shadows, or data dropouts.
Temporal Integrity
Temporal integrity means an output for a given date is built only from information available on or before that date.
Cadence
Cadence is how often a processed product is delivered, which can differ from sensor revisit time.