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| Landsat 8 compared to Landsat 7 (USGS). The green shows the transmission bands, with the absorption bands in white. |
Most of the Landsat bands are in atmospheric windows, which have a high
transmission and allow energy to pass through the atmosphere. The one
exception is band 9 on Landsat 8's OLI, which is located in an absorption band.
These occur where gases in the atmosphere absorb radiation of a particular
wavelength, and are used to track changes in the atmosphere; band 9 is designed
to pick up cirrus clouds.
Nice discussion of Landsat 8 bands, individually and as 3 band color combinations: https://landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/landsat-8/landsat-8-bands/
Landsat 7 was very similar to the Landsat 4 and 5 (and 6 if it had achieved orbit) multispectral bands.
Last revision 6/18/2018