Space images online. Space photography. Satellite images of the entire Earth

They say that the first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, seeing our planet from space, exclaimed: "The Earth ... what a beauty!" And indeed, enjoying the view of our planet from space, you never stop admiring its beauties, continents and oceans, all that makes up the unforgettable flavor of our globe. The wealth of information at our fingertips, the Internet, provides us with rich opportunities to enjoy the views of our home planet. In this article, I will talk about network resources that offer a real-time view from an online satellite. I will also describe how to use such services.

Network services for viewing satellite maps

A huge variety of sites for viewing maps from space online should not be misleading. The vast majority of such resources draw information from several basic sources - the NASA channel on the streaming site ustream.tv, card services from Google and Yandex. The independent creation of such maps is associated with large material costs, which is available to a limited number of resources, which I have discussed below.

Working with such services is simple, intuitive, and will not cause difficulties even for an inexperienced user. You go to such a resource, switch the display on it from schematic to satellite (satellite), enter the locality you need in the search box. Then, using the mouse wheel, increase or decrease the display scale to the level you need.

Such maps are created with different frequency (usually once every couple of months or even years). To get a real-time satellite view, you need to go to the NASA channel I have already mentioned below. Or gain access to military satellites, which is available only to a small number of military specialists.

The satellite views are truly breathtaking.

Let's take a closer look at network resources for displaying the Earth from a satellite.

Live video stream from NASA

If you want to get a satellite view through your PC, NASA's video stream on ustream.tv is the way to go. In real time, you will receive a picture broadcast from the ISS (International Space Station), which non-stop (with rare exceptions) transmits to Earth an image from the orbit of our globe. You can enjoy beautiful sunsets and sunrises, oceans and seas, all online and in real time. It really is worth it.

At the same time, if after going to the site you see a blue or black screen, or there is no picture at all, then you should not despair - such dysfunctions are of a short-term nature, and very soon the channel will be restored.

Google Maps - High Definition Satellite View

In addition to real-time display from the ISS, there are many network services where you can view online satellite maps of our planet. And without a doubt, the "" service is the most famous of them. Like all products from Google, it has an attractive design and works on most operating systems. With Google Maps, you can easily build the necessary route when traveling by car, public transport or on foot. You can enjoy a schematic map view, or the satellite view we need (switch to it by clicking on "Satellite" at the bottom left), and even a view of many city streets and buildings in 3D. Besides, Google Maps will show all the main sights, bars, gas stations and other amenities that you will meet on your way.

Satellite display on Google Maps

Yandex.Maps - satellite map of Russia

A card service called Yandex.Maps is a worthy alternative to Google in the vastness of our country. Domestic specificity Yandex gives the opportunity to create domestic maps with a higher degree of detail and update than Google ( domestic cards in Yandex are updated every two weeks). When displaying maps, four display modes are available, among which I will note the usual satellite display and satellite display with inscriptions, as well as the ability to highlight the selected area, city or region, measure distances, plot routes and other useful features.

Map service on Yandex

Yahoo! Maps is an English-language alternative to Google Maps

Yahoo! Maps is one of the best alternatives to Google Maps. The service was launched in 2007, and since then the number of its fans has been constantly growing. Yahoo! Maps gives you similar opportunities to Google, you can search the service for the directions you need, find the location you are looking for, get information about nearby services and business structures. Also here you can get data on traffic (traffic jams), and in accordance with the information received, plan your trip.

To switch the display to real-time satellite view, click on "Satelite" on the top right.

Map service from "Yahoo"

Microsoft Bing - online satellite maps from Microsoft

The Bing Maps service created by Microsoft is also one of the popular alternatives to Google. The service provides users with detailed information about more than 70 cities around the world. the globe. As in other similar resources, you can find here information on how to get to the required place by car or public transport, check local services, enjoy a 3D display of the city, and use other relevant features. The service also offers a unique "bird's eye" mode that allows you to enjoy aerial views from multiple angles.

Bing service from Microsoft

WikiMapia - viewing the Earth from space online from Wikipedia

As its name implies, the "" service belongs to the popular Wikipedia. Its capabilities allow you to work with various types maps - from the satellite we need to panoramic and hybrid. The service is developed and improved by volunteers, so if you find any inaccuracies on it, you can easily correct them, which will later help tourists when visiting your places. To add data, there is no need to create a separate account, while all your corrections will be reviewed by moderators for errors.

The appearance of the Wikimapia service

Nokia Maps is a mapping service from Nokia

By acquiring Earthimine, a 3D modeling company with Here, Nokia created a free service for other mapping services. Despite the rather limited functionality (a limited number of American and European cities are available for viewing), the resource has useful information in various directions. It also boasts various types of maps, including a rather nice 3D map, the satellite map we need, and others. Participation in this project of the company "Here" allows you to lay routes to places that are really interesting for tourists.

Map product "Nokia" and "Here"

Conclusion

Almost all of the resources listed above make it possible to view the area we need, enjoying the satellite view in almost real time. Among the entire list of resources, the NASA broadcast on the streaming site ustream.tv stands a little aside - the views from the ISS are sometimes truly mesmerizing.

What are the possibilities of using satellites flying over our heads in real time you know?

We can simply observe them, we can observe the Earth with the help of special services, we can calculate coordinates and receive images of the area.

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

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

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

Google Earth Maps also provide the possibility of virtual travel to any corner of the world.

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

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 "Earth Online"

• Planet Earth
• earth online

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 can we catch and what is the point here?

And the meaning is this - by sending a request for the issuance (download) of a file, you send a request to a special server, while the answer comes via satellite to the receiving dish. The request is sent by one, 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 receive the file, you need a special card for receiving a signal from space. 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. In order to catch something worthwhile from this stream, special grabber programs are needed, in which there are filters where you can specify file extensions, size, etc. The only thing is that the grabbers 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 catch something "big" or stumble upon information from the "Top secret" section, which will bring a little romance and adventurous notes into your life.

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

Yandex maps - online application from Russian developers, therefore, the cities of Russia are more accurately worked out in it. It has a built-in functionality for viewing traffic congestion data (large settlements), demographic and geodata. Google maps have no less high-quality satellite images of the territory of the Russian Federation, but data on land and traffic are available only for the United States.

Watch a map of Planet Earth from a satellite online

Below you can see the Google map embedded on the site. For more stable operation of the plugin, we recommend using the Google Chrome browser. If you see an error message, then update the specified plugin, 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 access to the service can be obtained not only through a browser, but also through a previously downloaded program. It has much more opportunities for viewing and studying satellite images, 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 quick movement between them;
• view not only the Earth's surface, but also images of other celestial bodies (Mars, the Moon, etc.).

Work with satellite maps Google is available through the client application or browser. A plug-in 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 program code of the site. For display, you can select both the entire surface and a specific area (you will have to enter the coordinates). Management - using a computer mouse and keyboard (ctrl + mouse wheel to zoom, cursor to move) or using the icons indicated on the map ("plus" - zoom in, "minus" - zoom out, move with the cursor).

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

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

A satellite image is automatically uploaded at the point of approach, so a stable Internet connection is required to work. 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.

The public cadastral map displayed with overlaying satellite photographs (as of 2015) is a nationwide resource containing information about real estate. In general terms, this is a huge photograph of the country, assembled from many small photographs taken from space as part of Esri or Scanex projects. The image is composed taking into account the global coordinate system. The main purpose of the service is to provide open (free) access to cadastral information to an unlimited number of users - ordinary citizens, realtors, lawyers, employees of land surveying firms and others. Since the implementation of the project in 2010, the procedure for obtaining cadastral information has been significantly simplified.

Informative resource

• 1 - cadastral number;

• 2 – address;

• 3 - area;

• 4 - cadastral value, which will be used for taxation;

• 5 - form of ownership.

• 1 - receive and print the plan of the land plot and the corresponding cadastral quarter;

• 2 - clarify the category of land, their boundaries and purpose;

• 3 - determine the location and boundary lines of neighboring objects;

• 4 - find out the data of the division of Rosreestr, which stores information about the object of interest;

• 5 - get information about capital construction projects. In addition to the above data, you can find out the number of storeys of the building, including underground, wall material, dates of commissioning and completion of construction, the name of the contractor and his TIN;

• 6 - send a request to the State Property Committee, USRR, get data about the object online.

Summary

Allows you to get spatial information about earth's surface in the visible and infrared ranges of electromagnetic waves. They are able to recognize the passive reflected radiation of the earth's surface in the visible and near infrared ranges. In such systems, the radiation falls on the appropriate sensors that generate electrical signals depending on the intensity of the radiation.

In optical-electronic remote sensing systems, as a rule, sensors with constant progressive scanning are used. Can be distinguished linear, transverse and longitudinal scanning.

The total scanning angle across the path is called the angle of view, and the corresponding value on the surface of the Earth is called shooting bandwidth.

The part of the data stream received from the satellite is called the scene. Schemes for cutting the stream into scenes, as well as their size for different satellites, have differences.

Optoelectronic remote sensing systems conduct surveys in the optical range of electromagnetic waves.

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

Multispectral(multizone) imaging systems form several separate images for wide spectral bands ranging from visible to infrared electromagnetic radiation. The greatest practical interest at the moment is represented by multispectral data from new-generation spacecraft, including RapidEye (5 spectral zones) and WorldView-2 (8 zones).

Satellites of the new generation of high and ultra-high resolution, as a rule, are shooting in panchromatic and multispectral modes.

Hyperspectral shooting 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. So, a survey system with 20 channels will be hyperspectral if it covers the range of 0.50-070 μm, while the width of each spectral zone is not more than 0.01 μm, and a survey system with 20 separate channels covering the visible region of the spectrum , near, shortwave, mid and longwave infrared regions, will be considered multispectral.

Spatial resolution— a value that characterizes the size of the smallest objects distinguishable in the image. The factors affecting the spatial resolution are the parameters of the optoelectronic or radar system, as well as the height of the orbit, that is, the distance from the satellite to the object being photographed. The best spatial resolution is achieved when surveying at nadir, while deviating from 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 is 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 a total of 64 color gradations, 8 bits / pixel - 256 gradations, 11 bits / pixel - 2048 gradations.