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Satellite Easter Eggs

Posted by Zonk on from the hi-mom! dept.

TheChocolatay writes "Wired has a story on hidden finds in satellite images. They range from sporting events to natural disasters to bombs and firefights in Iraq. Some very interesting and cool pictures." From the article: "Part of it is that we collect so much imagery that a lot of times no eyes have seen a lot of this stuff,...And so (we) go to an area, pop it open, and wow, we didn't intend to capture this icebreaker pushing this submarine."

14 of 508 comments (clear)

  1. Please send beer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hi this is where I'm staying, please send beer. Suite 315, thanks!

    1. Re:Please send beer by tcd004 · · Score: 5, Funny

      There's a decent liqour store right around the corner.

  2. Fuck by Realistic_Dragon · · Score: 5, Funny

    That'll teach me to do the bosses daughter outside.

    --
    Beep beep.
    1. Re:Fuck by zuzzabuzz · · Score: 5, Funny

      So large as to be easily seen from space?

      --
      -buzz
  3. Zoom out and you see even more by mrRay720 · · Score: 5, Funny

    In one I saw Italy and Greece kissing when they thought we weren't looking.

  4. Now if ... by ethernetmonkey · · Score: 5, Funny

    I could only find that image that when viewed from a distance looks like the Virgin Mary with her arm around Pope John Paul II I'd be an eBay millionare (and prob. have a /. article as well).

  5. Ok, I give up by Tebriel · · Score: 5, Funny

    Where's Waldo?

    --
    The Blaster Master Fighting for Truth, Justice, and Evil Pie since 1979
  6. How are these Easter Eggs? by rminsk · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Easter Eggs are intentionally hidden objects. How do these qualify as an Easter Egg? Google did not try to hide anything in the images. They just happen to be real life things happening at the time the images were taken.

  7. During the Cold War... by d_p · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...Soviet soldiers stationed at missle bases in the USSR used to carve "Fuck you USA" into the tundra and on tarmacs in huge letters with their snowplows.

  8. The Capitol by cascino · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Anyone else notice the U.S. Capitol building is intentionally blurred out? For "security"?

  9. Re:Best Game for Bored Workers by Honig+the+Apothecary · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Plane Taking off from ATL If you follow that frame east northeast you can watch as it gains altitude. One of the best ones I found yet.

    The Keyhole LT Client is kind of fun to play with as well.

  10. Re:Interesting, yet... by d_p · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Don't expect hi-res imagery of Israel. Congress passed a law requiring all commercial hi-res imagery of Israel to be reduced in quality so that its no better than the imagery being distributed by foreign commerical entities. That means 2m imagery of Israel. You can get .5m or 1m imagery of US military bases but not of Israel. I will withhold comment about foreign influence in the US govt, etc.

  11. Re:Imagery by cuzality · · Score: 5, Interesting

    For those of us not willing to simply imagine the images mentioned in the Wired story, try the mirrored story over at Mirrordot.

    For more sights to see...

    Interesting Google Satellite Maps (virtual sightseeing)
    highlights:
    • Bill Gates' house
    • White House- with "erased" rooftops
    Google Sightseeing (blog; new sites often)
    highlights:
    • perspective shift over Dallas (Apr 8)
    • Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant
  12. Re:Interesting, yet... by d_p · · Score: 5, Informative

    In 1996, the US Congress passed the Kyl-Bingaman Amendment to the Defense Appropriations Act. That law says that the US government may not license an American remote sensing company to collect or disseminate imagery of Israel at a better resolution than what is generally available from remote sensing companies in other countries, i.e. 2 meters.