Every user at least once wondered how to find their home using aerial photographs.

Surprisingly, Internet access to this information is now completely free.

With the launch of commercial Earth observation, Internet tools are now available to us that make it easy to see your home from space.

In our modern space age, there are over 8,000 satellites that are constantly orbiting the Earth.

The vast majority of them receive data and transmit encoded.

Many of them are equipped with high power cameras. Just look up into the sky and you will definitely see the satellite's trail after the satellite flies overhead.

But how can you access this satellite data and aerial photographs of your home?

Satellite images of the entire Earth

If you just want to see satellite images of the entire planet, you have some simple solutions.

You can go to the site of NASA forecasters. Every three hours, images taken by the NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite are posted on the site.

This is the release of images of the entire hemisphere of the planet Earth.

From these images, you can see the main changes in weather conditions affecting different hemispheres of the Earth.

The images are so accurate that you can see a specific location on Earth as close as possible.

The maximum realism is striking in these photographs. The weather changes you see in these pictures are happening on the planet right now.

If you do not want to watch videos, but just want to enjoy the extraordinary hemispheres of the Earth, these are the pictures you need.

Also on the Internet you can find amazing new satellite images of the Earth, which come from the Meteosat spacecraft of the 3rd generation of the European Space Agency.

Approximation. Looking at satellite images of houses

If these photos from weather satellites are not enough for you, let's see how to zoom in close enough to see houses from space.

To do this, we need the best tool on the market today, in my opinion. All you need is a web browser and internet connection.

On first launch, the user gets a satellite view over North America.

You can then zoom in or move the camera across the surface to see any location on Earth.

You can also enter the exact address you want to see.

Once you do this, you will have free access to satellite images of the house you provided. You can save the image or print it.

Another interesting tool is Google Earth. It can be accessed via the link: http://earth.google.com.

The main difference between Google Maps and Google Earth is that you have to download and install the corresponding application on your local computer (they have a version for PC, Mac, Linux and even iPhone).

Once you have downloaded and installed, you can see a 3D view of the Earth that you can zoom in and out.

You can also rotate the 3D model of our planet. You can enter your address and look at your house from above.

Google Earth's print function works much better than Google Maps because it uses a printer to print directly instead of using a web browser.

There are those among modern users who choose not to use the products of this search engine leader, suspecting that the company's technical engineers are spying on them.

Microsoft's service was formerly called MSN Maps, now the developers have changed the name to Bing Maps, completely updating the interface and functionality.

Yahoo's service is called Yahoo Maps and is very similar to Google Maps.

There is a big difference between the two.

You can find a cool app on the internet that allows you to see both of these apps side by side.

Comparing them, one can understand that the latter have been worked out in more detail.

And most cities are best viewed through this application.

Where do all these photos come from?

Google Maps and other popular mapping services are really just clients.

They are just like the users using satellite services that actually download these photos from space.

There are several major service providers in the market, including Geoeye.

Geoeye's main competitors are Digitalglobe and Spot Image.

Each company has a fleet of satellites that they use to observe the Earth.

Their technical capabilities make it possible to photograph tiny Earth objects.

The smallest object recorded so far is approximately 45 cm (18 inches).

In other words, a 45cm object will appear as one pixel in a photograph.

Private satellites that monitor our planet around the clock:

  • GeoEye - 5 satellites: IKONOS, OrbView-2, OrbView-3, GeoEye-1, GeoEye-2 (in 2013).
  • DigitalGlobe - 4 satellites: Early Bird 1, Quickbird, WorldView-1, Worldview-2
  • Spot Image - 2 satellites: Spot 4, Spot 5

Each of these services allows customers to purchase satellite imagery directly, but the prices are extremely high: hundreds or even thousands of dollars for specific satellite imagery.

It is usually not possible to buy direct photographs from the company that owns the satellite.

Most often, in such cases, they use the services of international intermediaries.

Average users are better off sticking to free sources.

When you look at these amazing images from space, you may be amazed at the accuracy and detail. In fact, this is far from the most relevant data.

At the moment, in the public domain, you can find pictures from two years ago.

More relevant data are bought out by special services, intelligence organizations and are never freely available.

But, if you have a thirst for up-to-date information, you should turn to other sources that will give you a lively view of the Earth from space.

For example, you can access a live stream from the NASA International Space Station.

About 40% of the time, if you go to their website, you will be able to see video of the Earth from the space station.

Another service called Urthecast launched a high-definition camera feed from the International Space Station in 2013 to broadcast video of Earth from space.

Navigation

Google Maps is not just a popular program used by the company, but it is also one of the most popular maps used for hybrid web applications.

This makes Google Maps a very popular and versatile tool that is used in a variety of ways.

It is used in localization applications, in weather forecasting services.

Learning to use the app is easy. This will help you navigate a variety of map-based hybrid web apps.

While some of these hybrids change some of the default settings.

But knowing Google Maps will allow you to quickly adapt to small changes in programmatic mapping.

Tip: While reading the instructions for using the app, try moving the maps to a separate browser window. You can practice in parallel by reading helpful tips.

Many users would like to enjoy satellite photos of their native places, to see their house, a nearby river or forest from above, in a word, everything that is usually called “small homeland”. Satellite cartographic services, which provide a unique opportunity to view all required geolocations in a detailed graphical mode, can become a tool for realizing this desire. After my attempts to look from a satellite at my home online, I found really high-quality services and I will share my best practices in the article.

There is a huge variety of mapping services on the web that provide the user with access to high-resolution satellite maps. At the same time, the vast majority of such services use the API from "Google Maps", and only a few services (including the domestic "Yandex.Maps") can boast of their own cartographic developments, different from the dominant maps in this segment from Google.

At the same time, working with such maps is quite formulaic. You go to one of them, if necessary, turn on the satellite display, and then enter your address (locality, street, house number) in the search bar. After that, the service finds the required location, and you can use the mouse wheel to increase or decrease the existing display. If the service for some reason does not find your house, I recommend entering the name of the city (town, village) and street, and then find the desired house yourself using the mouse.


At the same time, some services allow you not only to see your house from above, but also to walk along the streets of your native city, and enjoy the view of the buildings we need close up.

Let's move on to the list of services that will help us see our home from a satellite.

Google Maps - look at your home from a satellite in real time

The world's most popular cartographic resource is undoubtedly Google Maps. In addition to maps presented in schematic and satellite views, the service also includes the ability to 360 ° view of the streets of many cities in the world (Street View). Information about street traffic and traffic jams (Google Traffic), route planner from point A to point B, 3D display of many geographic points, other useful features.

You can use two main options to view your home:


Yandex.Maps - allows you to see the required object in Russia

Another map service with which you can enjoy the view of your home is Yandex.Maps. This service is the most popular in Russia, since the level of displaying the territory of Russia and the frequency of updating data in the Russian Federation exceeds all existing analogues, including generally recognized maps from Google.

Like the Google Maps service, Yandex.Maps can boast of both standard and satellite display of maps (as well as the "Hybrid" mode, which involves the application of various text and schematic markings on a satellite map). In addition, the street display mode (Yandex.Panoramas), the traffic congestion indicator (Yandex.Traffic jams), as well as the crowdsourcing system “People's Map”, available for editing by any user, are available to users.


To view your home using Yandex.Maps, go to the resource, type your address in the search bar at the top, and press enter. To switch to street view mode, click on the button with binoculars at the bottom of the screen (street panoramas and photos). And then select one of the streets marked in blue (you will switch to the street view mode at this point, and you can enjoy the flavor of these places).

Bing.Maps - satellite map from Microsoft

Bing.Maps is a web-based mapping service from Microsoft, formerly known as Windows Live Maps and MSN Virtual Earth. Its capabilities include satellite display of maps, street view, 3D display for 60 cities of the world, laying the optimal route and other features that are template for services of this type.


To monitor your home using Bing.Maps, go to the service indicated, click on the Road to the right, and select Hybrid View. Then enter the address you need in the search bar, and view the opened view.

MapQuest is a popular American mapping service

MapQuest (translated as "Card Search") Is a free American mapping service, the second most popular in the US after Google Maps. The resource can boast of a high degree of detailing of the streets of many countries of the world, it will help to plot a convenient route, inform about the available traffic, and much more.

To work with it, you need to go to this resource, click on the button with the globe on the right (Satelite), which will switch to the satellite display mode. After that, in the search bar on the left, enter the address you need (preferably in Latin), and enjoy displaying the desired location using the MapQuest service.


Service "MapQuest" - the second most popular in the United States

Conclusion

You can view your home from a satellite using the services I have listed in this material. For the territory of Russia, I would recommend the Yandex.Maps service - the level of its detail and the frequency of updated data inspire to consider Yandex maps as the best cartographic service on the territory of the Russian Federation. On a global scale, the Google Maps service is the undisputed leader, therefore it will be optimal to use the toolkit of this service to display maps of many countries of the world.

In contact with

What are the uses satellites flying over our heads in real time you know?

We can simply observe them, we can use them, we can calculate coordinates and receive images of the terrain.

In addition to the above presented static map of the Earth from a satellite, you can use the service or this interactive map for viewing:

But you can see such a map from a satellite on the Yandex Maps service

Satellite world map from Yandex maps online:
(Use + and - to change the map scale)

Google Earth Maps also provide an opportunity for virtual travel to any corner of the world.

(To move around the map, zoom in, zoom out, change the image angle, use the navigation in the form of arrows and signs + and - at the top of the map. Try also, control the map by holding the right mouse button)

Enter the name of the city:

The Earth can be observed in real time from a satellite! You can learn more about this in our article ""

The capabilities of satellites today are simply fantastic. It turns out that there is another equally interesting activity - satellite fishing!
If you have:
1) Satellite dish
2) Computer DVB tuner (DVB-PCI tuner, DVB card)
Then you can go fishing. But what, we will be able to catch and what is the point here?

And the meaning is this - by sending a request for the issue (download) of a file, you send a request to a special server, and the answer comes via a satellite to the receiving plate. The request is sent alone, and anyone can accept it, because the satellite does not know where a particular user is and transmits information to everyone who falls within its coverage area. In order to get the file, you need special card for receiving signal from... The card has a unique number by which the satellite identifies the recipient, allowing him to receive discrete data. In turn, the "fisherman" catches the entire stream, all user information from some provider. To catch something worthwhile from this stream, you need special grabber programs that have filters where you can specify file extensions, size, etc. The only thing is that the grabers determine the file not by the extension, but by the file signature, so you will additionally need to download codes with filters. You will also need renamers to sort files into directories, remove unnecessary ones and clones.
Who knows, maybe you will be able to catch something "big" or stumble upon information from the "Top secret" section, which will bring a little romance and adventurous notes into your life.


Service "Google Maps" (Google Maps) Is one of the most powerful mapping services in the world. Its capabilities allow you to enjoy satellite images of the surface of our planet. You can also use the capabilities of 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 "blind spots", in it I will talk about Google maps that are available online in real time and of excellent quality, and explain in detail how to use their capabilities.

We study the functionality of the online service "Google Maps"

"Google Maps" Is a web service that provides detailed visual information about geographic regions and locations around the world. In addition to displaying a conventional road map, the service also offers aerial and satellite imagery of various locations, as well as imagery taken with a variety of vehicles.


This is how the start screen of the Google Maps service looks like.

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 to various sites;
  • Google Street View (Google Street View) allows users to view the streets of various cities in the world, virtually navigating through them;
  • Google Maps for mobile platforms offers the use of GPS navigation of mobile devices to position the user on the map;
  • Ancillary services offer images of the Moon, Mars, clouds, etc. for astronomers and amateurs.

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

Instructions for using the map from Google

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 on the top left, the following useful options are presented:

  • « Satellite»- switches to the photographic map display mode, created using satellite photos. Pressing this option again switches the map back to schematic mode;
  • « Traffic jams»- shows current traffic jams in large cities. Color gradation from green to red shows the speed of traffic in the specified traffic jams;
  • « Transport»- allows you to display a schematic diagram of the movement of public transport in the right place;
  • « Relief"- will allow to display the relief of a given area
  • « Geodata transfer"- allows people to track each other's whereabouts using Google Maps;
  • « My places"- allows you to navigate between the places you added in the Google Maps service;
  • « Your impressions"- will allow you to add any textual impression about any of the places on the map (as well as attach a photo of this place).

Activating the satellite view of Google Maps

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

The received photographs are regularly updated (their age is no more than 3 years). They enable each user to enjoy the view of the desired places from the satellite, visually lay the most convenient road from one place to another, and so on.


Google Earth - lets you enjoy high-resolution imagery

Among the capabilities of the Google Maps service is the Google Earth service. 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 feature of this service is also two, in our opinion, the main functions:


Conclusion

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

Many users are interested in online satellite maps, which make it possible to enjoy the view of our planet's favorite places from a bird's eye view. There are a lot of such services on the web, and all of their diversity should not be misleading - most of these sites use the classic API from "Google Maps". However, there are also a number of resources that use their own tools to create high quality satellite maps. In this article, I will talk about the best high resolution satellite maps available online in 2017-2018, and also explain how to use them.

When creating satellite maps of the earth's surface, both images from space satellites and photos from special aircraft are usually used, which allow photographing at an altitude of a bird's flight (250-500 meters).

The satellite maps of the highest resolution created in this way are regularly updated, and usually images from them are no more than 2-3 years old.

Most of the network services do not have the ability to create their own satellite maps. Usually they use maps from other, more powerful services (usually Google Maps). At the same time, at the bottom (or at the top) of the screen, you can find a mention of the copyright of any company to demonstrate these cards.


Viewing satellite maps in real time is now not available to the average user, since such tools are used primarily for military purposes. Users have access to maps, photos for which were taken over the past months (or even years). It should be understood that any military objects may be deliberately retouched in order to hide them from interested parties.

Let's move on to describing the services that allow us to enjoy the capabilities of satellite maps.

Google Maps - high resolution view from space

Bing Maps - online satellite maps service

Among the online cartographic services of decent quality, one cannot ignore the Bing Maps service, which is the brainchild of Microsoft. Like the other resources I have described, this site provides fairly high-quality photographs of surfaces created using satellite and aerial photography.


Bing Maps is one of the most popular mapping services in the United States.

The functionality of the service is similar to the analogs already described above:

At the same time, using the search button, you can determine the online location of a specific satellite, and by clicking on any satellite on the map, you will receive brief information about it (country, size, launch date, and so on).


Conclusion

To display high-resolution satellite maps online, you should use one of the network solutions I have listed. The most popular on a global scale is the Google Maps service, so I recommend using this resource to work with satellite maps online. If you are interested in viewing geolocations on the territory of the Russian Federation, then it is better to use the Yandex.Maps toolkit. The frequency of their updates in the relations of our country exceeds that of Google Maps.