- GeoEye-1 has launched successfully: Video of the launch. The satellite is capable of 41cm-per-pixel imagery, but US government licensing restrictions limit its commercial output to 50cm per pixel. Question: US laws can and do force US companies to restrict satellite imagery taken of the US, but where is the legal precedent for limiting resolution for imagery of the rest of the world? I thought there was only a specific law for Israel and Palestine? If you know, please let me know.
- Cowabungle, cont.: Commenters on the Steven Levitt’s popular Freakonomics blog also sound a skeptical tone when confronted with the idea of magnetic cows. A farmer and pilot argue that cow orientations are above all influenced by wind direction, and wind is definitely not something you can compensate for by viewing satellite imagery. I’m more convinced than ever that this story is bullsh*t.
- Geolocator: Drop an image with EXIF coordinate metadata onto this free Mac application and it will direct Google Earth to the location. Previously reviewed options: GPS Info CMM and Apple’s built-in support.
- Layer update report: Or, you’re reading Google Lat Long Blog, right? The United Nations Environment Program’s layer has been updated, Atlantic storms get trackers in the default layer, Georgia gets its missing data.
- Imagery update: Or, you’re reading Google Earth Blog, right? In the absence of an official announcement and listing, Frank’s collecting changed regions in the latest imagery update.
- Satellite tracker: Finally had a chance to check out Analytical Graphics Inc’s live tracker of all 12,000+ earth-orbiting objects in US Strategic Command database, updated every 30 seconds. WOW. Must see. Zoom out to find geosynchronous satellites, and marvel at the swarm nearer to Earth. For each satellite, you can also get fixed-frame tracks via the popup.
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I am curious if anyone knows the location of the GeoEye-1s orbit, so we might guess how often it passes over a certain area (and thus, when an area we are interested in might possibly be updated)
The orbit may be taking spaghetti strip slices hundreds of miles apart on each pass, and the neighboring strip may not be added for weeks, depending on the orbit.