CibbuanoGoogle shows off first images from new Google satellite
October 27th 2008 00:51
It's backed by Google's indomitable search engine, which searches a huge database of place names and businesses. It's a robust, useful service - one that I couldn't live without. I mean, I'd probably get lost in my own house without it.
Google Maps also allows you to overlay satellite imagery overtop of the map, which is a nice feature, but the images have been rather poor quality to be of any use.
Recently, though, Google sponsored the launch of GeoEye-1, which takes photos at a resolution of 41 cm.
41 cm!
That means that, if you were at a baseball game, they'd almost be able to see the foot-long you were chowing down on. Not good enough to see if there was relish on it, though...
"The 4,300-pound satellite collected the image at noon EDT on Oct. 7 while moving from the north pole to the south pole in a 423-mile-high orbit at 17,000 miles per hour, or 4.5 miles per second. The spacecraft can take photos at a resolution of up to 41 cm -- close enough to zoom in on the home plate of a baseball diamond, according to Mark Brender, GeoEye's vice president of communications and marketing."
Interestingly, Google doesn't get the 41-cm resolution images... they operate the satellite in conjunction with the "National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, a U.S. government agency that analyzes imagery in support of national security", and due to a US law, Google is not allowed to have images with a resolution less than 50 cm.
Too bad, Google. I suppose your dreams of counting all those foot-long rulers are crumbling to dust.
Read more about the satellite on Cnet:
"GeoEye-1 will orbit 423 miles above Earth, but it will be able to gather imagery with details the size of 41 centimeters, Brender said. Google, though, is permitted to use data only with a resolution of 50cm because of the terms of GeoEye's license with the U.S. government."
On the other hand, if we look at the GeoEye-1 from Earth, we'd see a big Google sticker on it. That's important, I think, because we can't start advertising in space soon enough. We need massive McDonalds billboards and non-stop sales pitches up there. After all, people raise their eyes to the skies when they're hopeful... what better time to hit them with some pipe-wieldin' marketing...?
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