Bare earth and mud-brick buildings strongly reflect all three wavelengths, often showing a grey-white color. Water, on the other hand, strongly absorbs all three colors, so it appears as black in the satellite image. Meanwhile, verdant land comes out in red (because, generally speaking, vegetation most strongly reflects near infra-red light), while cities appear in green.
一般植物對近紅外光的反射最強，因此在圖上顯示紅色；裸露地及水泥建築物對這三種光反射都很強，常常呈現灰白色；水則反之，對三種光的吸收都很強，因此呈現黑色。