MS Live Search Maps getting better

[sirenwerks]

Either Cressona PA is now a haven for terrorists or MS Live Search Maps is improving exponentially. Normally, rural places like Cressona don't receive much attention in the way of detail satellite passes, where you can't zoom in very far for much detail, much less get a 'bird's eye' view. Today I wnt back to a thumbnail I had placed on the new Yuengling brewery in Cressona and lo!, I got a bird's eye view, making it so much easier to see the plant and possibly model it. Hazzah!

I went on the map to Eureka CA where I used to live and it's much clearer too. No bird's eye yet, but I'm able to zoom in much, much more than I used to be able to. I wonder what's up?

[Walkercolt]

The NSA/CIA/NASA is de-classifying more and more hi-res imagery due to you can pay for one meter resolution(or better) photos of the whole world from the place in France (sorry I've just lost the name in my memory cells right now). Google and Map Quest come in on my house good enough to see the heater vent pipe and the sewer vents on my roof, if you know what you're looking at.

[ljudice]

Yeah, the birdseye view of my house here in rural hunterdon county, nj was taken the day my oil tank was being dug out of the ground, so the house looks like it's surrounded by a swat team or something.

[asciibaron]

what new brewery in Cressona?  the new brewery is in Port Carbon where the old Reading yard was... they recently added onto the front of the building.

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&FORM=LMLTCP&cp=qsgn808njzhc&style=b&lvl=2&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=33639443&phx=0&phy=0&phscl=1&encType=1

-steve

[Ian MacMillan]

Wow odd how I miss this stuff! I was there on Friday and it was crappy satellite and now birds eye. Nice! I finally found that other Jeep road I had been looking for,for years.

[sirenwerks]

Doh, you're right Steve (gosh, how I hate saying that). I was looking at the wrong pin, it's just an elevator of some sort. Still, next ridge over in Pt. Carbon, there's the brewery in much clearer detail than it had been before. Hazzah! Thanks NSA!

[Dave Schneider]

I'm glad that people like the new imagery but there is no way that this is "declassified" data. It is an airborne commercial platform, sorta like the Google Maps streetview cameras.... but from an aircraft....and upside down  :. See http://www.pictometry.com/home/home.shtml

Now I could get them to shoot photos from the 1970s I'd be happy. 

Best wishes, Dave

[Walkercolt]

Dave, not to disagree with you, but NOVA on PBS has had numerous programs on "space mapping" the earth. The resolution from 23,000 miles up is equal to arieal photos from 50K feet, because there is only about 2%-3% more "atmosphere" from 50K feet up to 23,000 miles. Much of what is available is the old "Land-Sat" program from the late '60's, then they get newer images, and "meld" them together with a Cray or a big Digital, and the more "layers" of images you get, the more details show up. You can do it yourself with PhotoShop. You can take a I meg image, and lay it over 20 more 1 meg images, and you'll have a 21 megapixal image with amazing detail(if your chepo camera lens is up to it). This is how the Hubble images are assembled.  If you Goggle "space maps" the place that charges from France will show up. It was about $5 US an image. Depending on the state, and the lighting, and how good a loupe you look thru, you can make out tag numbers on cars sometimes.

[Dave Schneider]

No worries, but the highest resolution commercial satellite images are from the sensor on the GeoEye-1 satellite. It is collected at 0.41-m Panchromatic (gray-scale visible wavelength) & 1.65-m Multispectral (visible to near-infrared) but sold at 0.5-m Panchromatic & 2.0-m Multispectral due to US government regulations. Here is a cool gallery of their images (http://www.geoeye.com/CorpSite/gallery/detail.aspx?iid=227&gid=1). The very cool "Birds Eye" views are from an airborne camera system.

Best wishes, Dave