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Google Adds Satellite Imagery for the World

Posted by timothy on from the they're-just-making-that-stuff-up dept.

draevil writes "Google has hugely expanded the areas of the world that it covers with satellite imagery. Egypt, Iraq, mainland Europe and the UK have all now got satellite coverage to a lesser or greater degree. Slashdotters can now go see sights like Buckingham Palace or the Arc de Triomphe from the comfort of their own swivelchairs. Iraq in particular seems to have a large number of high-zoom areas. I just looked up the Baghdad Parade Grounds where Saddam used to take the salute and other towns like Fallujah are also there. Finding landmarks without the map content is a little harder, so what can the Slashdot crowd find?"

14 of 551 comments (clear)

  1. I Found... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The Pyramids of Giza! Oh wait, no...

    The Great Wall of China! Oh wait, no...

    The Sydney Opera House! Oh wait, no...

    Seriously, can we please stop shitting ourselves everytime Google makes the smallest tweak?

    No wonder people are saying the Make Blog is the new Slashdot...

  2. Interesting Pic Collection by XanC · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Make sure to submit the kewl links you find to:

    http://perljam.net/notes/interesting-google-satell ite-maps/

    1. Re:Interesting Pic Collection by platypus · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Or
      http://www.googlesightseeing.com/

  3. Different resolutions/scans by gardyloo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's a bit disconcerting to zoom out on, say, the US in satellite view, and see the whole state of New York a different color than its surroundings. This disparity is the same at all scales, presumably because of more recent satellite scans of that highly-populated and more-often-imaged area. Can they meld one region into another, without losing detail, and get rid of such effects?

  4. How old are the images? by SwellJoe · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I looked up my office at the corner of 6th and Congress in Austin, Texas and found that the gigantic Frost Bank building (the tallest building in downtown Austin) next door doesn't exist on the map. The Frost building has been there for over a year...So how old is this data?

    To quote from the FAQ:

    "Satellite images are current, but not real-time."

    This seems a bit vague. Does "over a year old" really equal "current"?

    I'm not criticizing, just curious. It's wicked cool even if the pictures aren't quite of the present. I just can't check for traffic jams on MoPac yet.

  5. The Pyramids! by intmainvoid · · Score: 3, Interesting

    http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.976561,31.131907 &spn=0.007682,0.010428&t=k&hl=en

    --
    Drag n' Drop DVD Recommendations
  6. UFOs! by bort27 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    UFO Number 1 UFO Number 2 UFO Number 3
    UFO Number 4 UFO Number 5 UFO Number 6
    UFO Number 7 UFO Number 8 UFO Number 9
    UFO Number 10 UFO Number 11 UFO Number 12
    UFO Number 13 UFO Number 14 UFO Number 15
    UFO Number 16 UFO Number 17 UFO Number 18

    The truth is out there...

    bort.

    --
    Free, Anonymous surfing: Pagewash.com.
    1. Re:UFOs! by epsilon720 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Nah, it's condensation on the aircraft camera lens. That's why it appears at regular intervals along straight paths. The airplane flies straight and takes pictures every so often as it goes. It doesn't happen all of the time because there isn't supposed to be condensation; their housing must have leaked. Sorry.

      (Come on, if they were UFOs, they would have to be BETWEEN the plane and the ground. Unlikely.)

  7. Maree Man by Profound · · Score: 4, Interesting
    The Maree Man, a 28km in circumference outline of a man in the South Australian desert.

    http://maps.google.com/maps?q=maree,+Australia&ll= -29.533997,137.466431&spn=0.036736,0.061712&t=k&hl =en

  8. Re:Pictures of the Oslo/Norway isnt' too good. by Osty · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It's not just Oslo. Google has low resolution images for much of the United States as well. For example, I went clicking around for some well-known race tracks (and my local track, not so well-known). Here's what I came up with:

    • Pacific Raceways. Very good data, nice resolution, can easily make out the track. Scroll the map right to see the rest of the track (turns 7, 8, and 9).
    • Portland International Raceway. Also very good detail. You can easily make out the optional Festival Curves (the lighter-colored kink on the front straight, the southwestern portion of the track).
    • Mazda Laguna Seca. Horrible resolution. Close the little pin bubble if it's open when you click the link, and then look at the white and blue blob near the top of the window. That's Laguna Seca. Horrible.
    • Road America. No better than Laguna Seca. Possibly worse, since you can't easily make out where the track is. If you look at the map, there's a highway (67) to the right of the two lakes. It heads south-southeast, makes a sharp kink to south-east, and has a smooth curve to south. If you look closely under the kink, that's Road America.
    The sad thing is that this data is actually available from TerraServer, though it's mostly in black and white and is relatively old (Road America is 1992 and Laguna Seca is 1998). Also, TerraServer is not all AJAXy (I hate that name), so navigating the maps is more painful. That said, the data is there, and good.
    • Mazda Laguna Seca. You can easily make out all of the track features, including the infamous corkscrew.
    • Road America. Zoom out to get a better idea of where it's at in relation to Highway 67 if you want to try to locate it on the Google map.
  9. Re:Looking around Washington, DC... by daniil · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I was not surprised at all to find the rooftops of the White House and nearby buildings masked.

    --
    Man is a slave because freedom is difficult, whereas slavery is easy.
  10. Re:Looking around Washington, DC... by imsabbel · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There are anti aircraft missiles stationed up there, and the non-censored pic would show how many, perhaps they could even be identified.

    --
    HI O WISE PRINCE. WHT TOOK U SO DAM LONG?
  11. Chernobyl by vjouppi · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Just had to dig that out, since I've been quite interested in it for a long time now..

    http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.383400,30.114813 &spn=0.062485,0.095615&t=k&hl=en

    --
    -Jope
  12. Re:Oil tankers in the Med by free2 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=36.005974,-5.4770 28&spn=0.006555,0.008647&t=k&hl=en