Fresh high resolution satellite maps. Google Maps

They allow you to obtain spatial information about the earth's surface in the visible and infrared ranges of electromagnetic wavelengths. They are able to recognize passive reflected radiation from the earth's surface in the visible and near-infrared ranges. In such systems, radiation hits the corresponding sensors, which generate electrical signals depending on the intensity of the radiation.

In optical-electronic remote sensing systems, as a rule, sensors with constant line-by-line scanning are used. You can select linear, transverse and longitudinal scanning.

The total scanning angle across the route is called the viewing angle, and the corresponding value on the Earth's surface is shooting bandwidth.

Part of the data stream received from a satellite is called a scene. The schemes for cutting the stream into scenes, as well as their size for different satellites, differ.

Optical-electronic remote sensing systems carry out surveys in the optical range of electromagnetic waves.

Panchromatic the images occupy almost the entire visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum (0.45-0.90 microns), and are therefore black and white.

Multispectral(multispectral) imaging systems produce multiple separate images over broad spectral regions ranging from visible to infrared electromagnetic radiation. The greatest practical interest at the moment is multispectral data from new generation spacecraft, including RapidEye (5 spectral zones) and WorldView-2 (8 zones).

The new generation of high- and ultra-high-resolution satellites, as a rule, survey in panchromatic and multispectral modes.

Hyperspectral imaging systems form images simultaneously for narrow spectral zones in all parts of the spectral range. For hyperspectral imaging, it is not the number of spectral zones (channels) that is important, but the width of the zone (the smaller the better) and the sequence of measurements. Thus, a shooting system with 20 channels will be hyperspectral if it covers the range of 0.50-070 microns, while the width of each spectral zone is no more than 0.01 microns, and a shooting system with 20 separate channels covering the visible region of the spectrum , near, short-wave, mid- and long-wave infrared regions will be considered multispectral.

Spatial resolution- a value characterizing the size of the smallest objects distinguishable in the image. Factors influencing spatial resolution are the parameters of the optical-electronic or radar system, as well as the orbital altitude, that is, the distance from the satellite to the object being imaged. The best spatial resolution is achieved when shooting at the nadir; as you deviate from the nadir, the resolution deteriorates. Satellite images can have low (more than 10 m), medium (from 10 to 2.5 m), high (from 2.5 to 1 m), and ultra-high (less than 1 m) resolution.

Radiometric resolution determined by the sensitivity of the sensor to changes in the intensity of electromagnetic radiation. It is determined by the number of gradations of color values ​​corresponding to the transition from the brightness of absolutely “black” to absolutely “white”, and is expressed in the number of bits per pixel of the image. This means that in the case of a radiometric resolution of 6 bits/pixel, we have only 64 color gradations, 8 bits/pixel - 256 gradations, 11 bits/pixel - 2048 gradations.

Remember the movie “Men in Black”, where Agent Kay looked through an orbital camera at his beloved watering flowers in the courtyard? The opportunity to see what our Earth looks like from a satellite in real time attracts people from all over the world. Today we will tell you - and show you! - the best fruits modern technologies on Earth observation.

Attention! If you see a dark screen, it means the cameras are in the shadows. Screensaver or gray screen - no signal.

Usually we only get static satellite maps, frozen in time - details have not been updated for years, and an eternal summer day reigns outside. Isn't it interesting to see how beautiful the Earth is from a satellite online in winter or at night? In addition, the quality of images of some regions of Russia and the CIS leaves much to be desired. But now all this can be solved in one fell swoop - thanks to , Earth online from a satellite in real time is no longer science fiction. Right on this page you can join thousands of people who are now observing the planet.

At an altitude of 400 kilometers above the planet, where the station is permanently located, NASA installed one developed by private companies. The astronauts themselves or at the commands of the Mission Control Center direct the cameras from which data is transmitted. Thanks to manual control, we can see what the Earth looks like from a satellite online from all sides - its atmosphere, mountains, cities and oceans. And the mobility of the station allows you to view half of the globe in an hour.

How does the broadcast happen?

Due to the fact that the cameras are located on International station, even minor details are noticeable to us, which are commented on by scientists, astronauts and professional journalists. However, our Earth is visible online from a satellite in real time thanks to the work of a whole complex of people and machines - in addition to the already mentioned astronauts and the Control Center, the process involves satellite communication transmission technologies, solar power batteries and technical specialists involved in data translation and decoding. Accordingly, the broadcast has its own nuances - knowing them will help you see more and better understand what is happening on the screen.

Our observation point, the orbital station, moves at enormous speed - almost 28 thousand kilometers per hour, and circles the Earth in 90-92 minutes. Half of this time, 45 minutes, the station hangs on the night side. And although on approach the solar panels of the cameras can be powered by sunset light, in the depths the electricity disappears - therefore it is not always available from the satellite. At such moments, the broadcast screen turns gray; Just wait a little and you will be watching the sunrise with the astronauts.

In order to find best time for observations, you will need our special card Earth from a satellite - it marks not only the time of passage of the space station, but also its exact position. This way you can find out when to see your city from space heights, or find a station in the sky with binoculars or a telescope!

We have already mentioned that astronauts and ground control can change the aiming of cameras - they perform not only an entertaining, but also a scientific function. At such moments, planet Earth is not accessible from a satellite in real time - a black or blue screensaver appears on the screen, or already captured moments are repeated. If there are no interruptions in satellite communications, the station is located on the day side of the planet, and the background suddenly changes, then the cameras are filming areas inaccessible to the public due to international treaties. Secret objects and forbidden territories are closed on static maps, skillfully hidden by photo editors or simply erased. All that remains is to wait for the moment when the situation in the world relaxes, and there will be no secrets from ordinary citizens.

Hidden Features

But don't be upset if the camera isn't working right now! When planet Earth cannot be shown online from a satellite, astronauts and NASA find other entertainment for viewers. You will see life inside the International Space Station, astronauts in zero gravity, who talk about their work and what kind of satellite view of the Earth will be shown next. They allow you to look even into impressive big center flight control. The only negative is that even the speech of Russian cosmonauts is translated into English so that it can be understood by the American employees who manage the Center. It is currently not possible to turn off translation. Also, don’t be surprised by the silence - comments are not always appropriate, and there is no constant sound accompaniment yet.

For those who predict the route of cameras using the capabilities provided by a real-time satellite map of the Earth, we have advice - check the date and time settings on your computer. The server that updates the map uses the given International Station motion formula and the time zone of your IP address to predict the position of the orbital cameras. The online map judges what the Earth looks like from a satellite solely based on the device’s time. If your clock is slow or fast relative to the time zone, the station will move east or west accordingly. The use of proxy servers and anonymizers will also affect the results.

You are a participant in a scientific program

Surely you have noticed that the quality of the picture of the planet Earth from space and a live broadcast from a satellite often changes - the image is covered with squares or lags behind the audio track. In most cases, it is enough to check the speed of your Internet connection, disable other videos and programs for downloading files, or click on the HD button in the broadcast window. However, even if there are interruptions, it is worth remembering that the planet can only be seen alive thanks to a large-scale scientific experiment.

Yes, yes - the video on this page is transmitted for a reason. The cameras installed on the International Space Station are part of the High Definition Earth Viewing program (from English: view of the Earth from a satellite in high resolution), which is still being improved and developed. The cameras are installed by astronauts in conditions isolated from cold and dust, but they are exposed to harsh radiation from the outside. Scientists are experimenting with the difficulties of continuous data transmission in space, ensuring that a map of the Earth from a satellite in good quality exists not only motionless, but also living, dynamic. The results will help improve existing channels and create new ones - even in Mars orbit in the foreseeable future.

So let's stay in touch - new things appear in the world of space every day!

A satellite map of the world allows you to quickly move around the entire planet between any populated areas. Detailed map world from satellite in Russian:

Explore the schematic map or switch to the satellite world map in the lower left corner of the map. Schematic map of the world is a map of countries and cities with street names and house numbers in Russian. The schematic map of the world shows attractions and tourist sites, the location of train stations, shops, restaurants and shopping centers, a map highways cities. Satellite world map will allow you to view satellite photographs of the city thanks to images from the Google Maps service.

You can zoom in on the online map, scaling it to streets and house numbers. To change the scale, use the “+” (zoom in) and “-” (zoom out) icons located in the lower right corner of the map. You can also zoom in or out on the map using the mouse wheel. The left mouse button zooms in on the map, the right mouse button zooms out. You can move it with the mouse interactive map in all directions by using the left mouse button to grab any place on the map.

Interactive world map online is a very convenient and modern guide for exploring the city, its districts and attractions, hotels, places of recreation and entertainment. Online map the world can become an indispensable assistant for you in your independent travel. Interactive map provided by Google Maps.

How satellite maps of the world are created:

The satellite, passing over the planet, scans the earth's surface and, using software maps are drawn up. More recently, a few years ago, satellite maps showed the surface of the planet from a height of several kilometers. Now technologies make it possible to make satellite maps from a height of several meters, and in the near future technologies will make it possible to create satellite maps with detail up to 30 centimeters.

What to see on the world map from satellite:

First of all, people look on the map for their country, their hometown, the street and the house in which they live. To do this, you can zoom in on the schematic map of the world to your city, and then turn on the “Satellite” mode in the lower left corner of the map. In exactly the same way, you can travel around all countries of the world online, exploring the sights of countries and cities in real time. Popular places that are often searched for on a satellite map: Reichstag in Berlin (Germany), Acropolis of Athens in Greece, Egyptian pyramids, Italy - Colosseum in Rome (Ancient Roman gladiatorial arena, Peterhof in Russia (west of St. Petersburg), Statue of Liberty in the USA - a symbol of America, the Eiffel Tower in Paris (France), the Great Wall of China.

Google Maps service (Google Maps) is one of the most powerful mapping services in the world. Its capabilities allow you to enjoy satellite images surface of our planet. You can also use the interactive map, easily plot a convenient route from point A to point B, get up-to-date information about traffic jams and much more. At the same time, not all users are fully familiar with the capabilities of this service, which in a certain way prevents its full use. This material is intended to eliminate such “blank spots”; in it I will talk about Google maps, which are available online in real time and in excellent quality, and I will explain in detail how to use their capabilities.

Studying the functionality online service Google Maps

Google Maps is a web service that provides detailed visual information about geographic regions and places around the world. In addition to displaying a conventional road map, the service also offers aerial and satellite imagery of various locations, including images taken using a variety of vehicles.

Google Map includes several popular services:

• The route planner offers the creation of routes for drivers and pedestrians who want to get from point A to point B;
• The Google Maps API makes it possible to insert maps from Google Maps into various websites;
• Google Street View (Google Street View) allows users to view the streets of various cities around the world, virtually moving through them;
• Google Maps for mobile platforms offer the use of GPS navigation mobile devices to position the user on the map;
• Ancillary services offer images of the Moon, Mars, clouds, etc. for astronomers and just amateurs.

To start working with Google maps in full screen, launch the service google.ru/maps. A schematic map of the world will open in front of you (depending on the user’s location, usually this is a map of Europe).

Instructions for using Google maps

The Google Maps service interface looks like this:

Additional options in the Menu item

Also in the Google Maps menu bar, which opens by clicking the menu button at the top left, the following useful options are presented:

• « Satellite» - switches to photographic map display mode created using satellite photographs. Clicking this option again switches the map back to schematic mode;
• « Traffic jams» — shows current traffic jams in major cities. The color gradation from green to red shows the speed of traffic in the indicated traffic jams;
• « Transport» — allows you to display the movement diagram public transport in the right place;
• « Relief» – will allow you to display the relief of a given area
• « Transfer of geodata» - allows people to track each other's location using Google Maps;
• « My places» — allows you to navigate between places you added in the Google Maps service;
• « Your impressions» - will allow you to add some text impression about any of the places on the map (as well as attach a photo of this place).

Activating Google Maps satellite view

Displaying Google maps using satellite photos is one of the most popular forms of working with the Google Maps service. It allows you to enjoy the view of the desired geographical location created using satellite images, as well as images from special devices operating at bird's eye height (from 240 to 460 meters).

The resulting photographs are regularly updated (their age is no more than 3 years). They allow every user to enjoy the view the right places from a satellite, visually lay out the most convenient road from one place to another, and so on.

Google Earth - allows you to enjoy high-resolution images

Among the capabilities of the Google Maps service is the service “ Google Planet Earth". In addition to the technology of the already well-known satellite mapping of the surface of the globe, Google Earth allows you to view 3D images of many colorful places, while photos of some famous tourist sites have the highest resolution.

A special feature of this service is also two, in our opinion, main functions:

Conclusion

The Google Maps service allows you to both view satellite maps in real time for free and use various forms of navigation to plot a user-friendly route. At the same time, Google Maps’ competitors are “Yandex.Maps”, “ Bing Maps", "Apple Maps" and other analogues are generally inferior to Google maps both in coverage area and in general functionality. Therefore, we recommend using Google maps to search and visually view the geographic location you need.

To observe the Earth's surface for free and view satellite images online, you can use several applications. In Russia, two of them are most popular: Google Maps and Yandex Maps. Both services boast good quality high-resolution satellite images of most countries.

Yandex maps - online application from Russian developers, therefore, the cities of Russia are more accurately described in it. It has built-in functionality for viewing traffic load data (large settlements), demographic and geodata. Google maps have equally high-quality satellite images of the territory of the Russian Federation, but data on land plots and traffic are available only for the United States.

View a map of Planet Earth from satellite online

Below you can see the Google map built into the site. For more stable operation of the plugin, we recommend using the Google Chrome browser. If you see an error message, please update the specified plugin and then reload the page.

Watch Google Earth from satellite, in real time online:

Another advantage of Google Maps is the presence of a client application for working with satellite images. This means that the service can be accessed not only through a browser, but also through a pre-downloaded program. It has many more opportunities for viewing and studying satellite images and working with a three-dimensional virtual globe.

3D satellite map from Google (downloadable app, not online version) allows:

• use a quick search for the desired objects by name or coordinates;
• take screenshots and record high quality videos;
• work offline (preliminary synchronization via the Internet is required);
• use a flight simulator for more convenient movement between objects;
• save “favorite places” for fast travel between them;
• view not only the Earth's surface, but also images of other celestial bodies (Mars, Moon, etc.).

You can work with Google satellite maps through a client application or browser. A plugin is available on the official page of the program that allows you to use an interactive map on any web resource. It is enough to embed its address in the site’s program code. For display, you can select either the entire surface or a specific area (you will have to enter the coordinates). Control - using a computer mouse and keyboard (ctrl+mouse wheel for zooming, cursor for moving) or using the icons indicated on the map (“plus” - zoom in, “minus” - zoom out, move with the cursor).

The Google Earth service in real time allows you to work with several types of maps, each of which reflects certain data on satellite images. It’s convenient to switch between them “without losing progress” (the program remembers where you “were”). Available viewing modes:

• landscape map from satellite (geographical objects, features of the Earth's surface);
• physical map(detailed satellite images of the surface, cities, streets, their names);
• schematic geographical map for a more accurate study of surface images.

The satellite image is automatically loaded at the point of approach, so a stable Internet connection is required for operation. To use Google Earth offline, you need to download an application for Windows or another operating system. Its operation also requires the Internet, but only for the first launch, after which the program synchronizes all the necessary data (satellite images of the surface, 3D models of buildings, names of geographical and other objects) after which it will be possible to work with the received data without direct access to the Internet.