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April 24, 2006

Google Maps Gets Huge Satellite Update from Google Earth

Last Friday Google updated the satellite data used for Google Maps so it now has the many updates recently made to the Google Earth database. This means the new high resolution data for all of Germany, many places in Europe, the new 3"/pixel data for Las Vegas, and many other places are now available to Google Maps users. A big part of the change is that, when zoomed out, the Earth's land masses will look more green because Google is now using a dataset from a company called TrueEarth.

Here are some blog entries with details on the changes:

From a Google Maps perspective, only the data updates to the aerial and satellite photos are significant. The updates to things like place names you will need to use Google Earth to see.

While we are on this subject, OgleEarth points to a hidden feature allowing you to bring up Google Earth for the current view in Google Maps. If you choose the "Link to this page" option in Google Maps after searching for a location, you can bring up the same view in Google Earth by appending "&output=kml" to the URL.

[EDIT 18:10 EDT: Some folks have discovered that as part of these updates Google Maps and Google Earth can now give directions to most European areas - see example for Paris to Berlin.]

Posted by FrankTaylor at April 24, 2006 7:24 AM

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Comments

Well, no updates to my hometown. Still a green blur. I guess Stone Henge is more important than the beautiful, bucolic Athens, Ohio? Puhleaze.

Posted by: cory at April 24, 2006 11:35 AM

When is SE Wisconsin (Milwaukee) going to get some decent resolution. Currently it completely sucks. Terraserver, even in the non-subscribe mode, provides better resolution.

Posted by: Clint Laskowski at April 24, 2006 11:38 AM

What happend to 3d buildings, I thought at one point google would allow users to view buildings in a 3d aspect. Othewrise what is the point of tilting up and down?

Posted by: Eugene f at April 24, 2006 11:46 AM

Eugene, you can see the 3D buildings in Google Earth for 38 major metropolitan areas in the US. You just need to turn on the "Buildings" layer. Even Las Vegas has a few buildings done, but not the more architecturally interesting casinos so far.

There are a lot of stories about 3D buildings here:

http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&search=buildings

Posted by: Frank Taylor at April 24, 2006 11:55 AM

Yeah, same for us in northeastern Ky. New photos, but same, poor resolution. Yahoo maps is much, much better, check out the comparison:

http://www.houseofboyd.com/?p=344

Posted by: John at April 24, 2006 12:18 PM

The rural areas of eastern North Carolina need better pictures.

Posted by: macewan at April 24, 2006 12:28 PM

Yeah, I noticed the "update" last week. I used to have great resolution in my neighborhood - Hartford, WI and now it's terrible.

Back before Google bought keyhole, the maps for Milwaukee were great. As far as I can see, the quality of maps is getting WORSE, not better.

Posted by: Chris at April 24, 2006 12:56 PM

to be technically correct, satellite photography is not used in google earth. the only current satellite system of appropriate resolution is russia's spin-2 which is not included in the google dataset. the rest of the space-based data is "imagery" not "photography."

Posted by: jamon at April 24, 2006 12:58 PM

nothing for maine in the usa still. looks like i still wont be using gearth sorry

Posted by: aaron at April 24, 2006 1:35 PM

Yeah, SE Wisconsin never shows up. Our resolution sucks? Is Milwaukee hell, or are we just non-existant? Please refer to the Drew Carey show for more details.

Posted by: Matt at April 24, 2006 1:51 PM

I love using Google Earth, especially when it comes to determining directions from one point to another.

I don't understand Google's pursuit of Maps. I think Google Earth is widely used and that should be their focus when it comes to navigation.

Posted by: wom at April 24, 2006 2:08 PM

I get really good detail on my town! You can see everything down to the cars in my driveway!

Posted by: Kevinchai at April 24, 2006 3:23 PM

Yah, despite the great resolution that some of the more popular and heavily populated areas can be seen with, I'm still wondering when all those people from out in the middle of nowhere such as myself will get a chance to see our own house's too. I'm not particularly a big fan of looking at a giant green blob that's supposedly supposed to be my hometown and can only be viewed somewhat clearly at an altitude of 20,000 feet. Though some of the thing's you'll find on Google Earth are still quite amusing. I found one area that you can see 3 completely different seasons that only encompases a few square miles!

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/6067/image18ku.jpg

Posted by: Tristan Dion at April 24, 2006 5:43 PM

How about a good closeup of Yermo, CA? Part of the movie "The Incredible Hulk" was filmed there and You can't identify the local streets there, Also in Lenwood, CA there is a short Dirt road named Knight Rd(Realtor) or Knight Ct.(SW Gas) that is seen and not labeled(It's south of 3rd st and east of Paris Ave and west of the Church parking lot).

Posted by: Victor Bobier at April 25, 2006 5:56 AM

I sure hope we get more detail for Guam and Philippines. There is a lot of Golf courses I would like to study in these places.

Posted by: Vic Libranda at April 25, 2006 10:55 AM

Any chance you could cover more than a tiny bit of Ireland considering your European HQ is here?

Microsoft Local Live goes right down to local side-street level in my little town.

Posted by: Conor O'Neill at April 25, 2006 6:01 PM

cory: Sounds a lot like another Athens-- specifically, the one in Georgia, which only has ridiculously low-res imagery on Google.

Interestingly, maps.ask.com and the Yahoo Maps beta have much better imagery of Athens, Georgia than Google... but their aerial photos of Macon, my previous home, are seriously out of date compared to Google's.

Posted by: codeman38 at April 26, 2006 11:55 AM

hey google earth people.. u guys rock!!! my class is using ur program for a project... but can u guys update on GUAM.. please... cuz on the version we are using now.. its only a blob of green land.. please and thank you.. oh and also the Philippines... =]

Posted by: kris at May 17, 2006 4:33 AM

This is so neat! Can you update the info on the Outerbanks, NC. It is old views as places like the Cabana East Motel that was next to Shore Leave, is no longer there. Still trying to find out about The Wharf. Thanks.

Posted by: Beatrice Shanholtz at May 27, 2006 8:53 PM

I like Google Earth very much and watch it whenever I got time for it. I hope you will continue to make it larger and larger, because I find it such an atractive site.
Yours Truly,
Dennis.

Posted by: Dennis den Boer at October 30, 2006 8:04 AM

I love google earh because it gives a great view of da wrld....although I hope U can update the Philippines (spclly Paniqui, Tarlac)...there are alot of blurry places I hope U guys can update it ASAP....thnkxz :-)

Posted by: Ja9 at November 26, 2006 2:48 PM

> Image Details <
Does anyone know why the low elevation images in Google Maps are more detailed than most of low elevation images in Google Earth?

Posted by: JH at January 16, 2007 3:44 AM

Right now, I believe the Google Maps and Earth databases for imagery are the same. There are times when the two are out of synch when they do a big update, or when they have done very small updates. But, this usually only lasts a few days.

Google Earth also lets you zoom down to a lower elevation than Google Maps, so it is usually Google Earth that appears to have higher resolution. This really is just a limitation in Google Maps zoom levels, the imagery is the same.

Can you give the coordinates for an example of what you are talking about?

Posted by: Frank Taylor at January 16, 2007 7:51 AM

I was now 2 times in Shimla / Himachal Pradesh / India. Its a very nice hilltown on the foots of Himalaya. I saw on GoogleEarth only the west part of Shimla. This part is not so interesting. I hope 'they' will update the east part of Shimla soon.... S.P. Germany Apr. 2007

Posted by: Stefan at April 8, 2007 12:21 PM

Who doesn't like that Google maps shot of Vegas? If you can't be there, G-maps is the best thing I've found so far!

Posted by: Richard Martin at April 19, 2007 11:39 AM

How often are the images in Google Earth updated?

Posted by: fourdram at April 27, 2007 1:57 PM

Maps for TR7 updated & now at least 5 years older. Why

Posted by: d at June 19, 2007 12:33 PM

Geeze, - Alot of griping here for something that's FREE, and incredibly beautiful & interesting. - Thank you Google! - As far as resolution, some spots ARE better than others, but be patient out there. - I live in Jacksonville< Fl. (USA) and if you 'fly' out to the mouth of the St. Johns River, where it empties into the Atlantic, check out the Mayport naval Base on the South side of the river. - Zoom in enough, and you'll see an aircraft carrier, - more zoom will let you see a fighter jet on the flight deck that you can almost read the numbers on! - How's THAT for resolution?

Posted by: Pat at June 29, 2007 1:21 AM

what is the date of current map please..keith.

Posted by: keith at August 25, 2007 6:30 AM

I feel your resolution pain when I try to find my folks house in upstate NY but even those of us in not so rural areas are missing data. I actually live in Discovery Bay, California, 40 miles form Silicon Valley and my 4 year old house does not seem to exist according to Google Earth. It's still a dirt lot. I love this application and think it is great for teaching our kids about the world and geo but it's hard to convince my kids that it is anything more than old technology since it is updated so rarely. Google Earth is to cutting edge as ethernet cables are to wireless networks they say....
-S

Posted by: Steve at September 5, 2007 2:23 PM

How do we find out when images were captured?

Posted by: ray at September 6, 2007 7:55 AM

Is there anyway google map guys can broadcast or posts their next map update? if there is, please post the link. Thank you

Posted by: Jayzon Ragasa at September 30, 2007 9:54 PM

Google Earth crashes more than Wile E. Cyote. I like the idea of the program but I can't stand the instability.

Posted by: Fred at October 15, 2007 6:28 AM

wont the map to appear in wy website

Posted by: mohammed kassim at October 20, 2007 10:02 AM

Anyone know perhaps how to view the old maps?

Posted by: David at October 27, 2007 10:51 PM

I live in Taylorsville,Kentucky and would like to know if and when the photo of my location will be updated to have better resolution?

Posted by: Ron Mason at October 28, 2007 9:20 AM

I also live in Taylorsville and i would like to be able to see my house. When will there be an update where i can

Posted by: travis sidebottom at December 21, 2007 3:06 PM

Still no update in Philippines, I hope google earth can update the map of our town Capas ( 15°20'16"N 120°35'35"E)from province of Tarlac.. The Death March ended here, where thousands of filipinos and americans died during world war 2.

Posted by: Nathan at January 29, 2008 6:09 AM

I love Google Earth... but any idea when Green Bay, Wisconsin will get more than the green blobs?

We DO have a professional football team you know (... we're not exactly in the middle of "nowhere")

Posted by: Rex Johnson at February 22, 2008 1:32 AM

Hello, i have a question

is there any way of asking Google to update the satellite image for a specific area. or may be is there any paid service for this kind of thing ?

thanks

Posted by: ozgur atmaca at April 16, 2008 12:53 PM

Definitely a DOWNGRADE for me. I used to be able to see my car in the drive and now the whole neighborhood is a green blur. The new resolution realy sucks in Ottawa

Posted by: Pat Jeffries at April 26, 2008 9:26 AM

Pat, that was exactly what I said after 'upgrading' to 4.3.7204.0836 (beta)! I might try uninstalling the 'upgrade' and reinstalling the original, because it's just not worth having this blurry mess.

Perhaps it's a ploy to get us to upgrade to Google Earth Plus?

Posted by: Paul in NJ at May 6, 2008 10:45 PM

When u are update Montenegro, Capital Podgorica,
or anyone other city in Montenegro?

Posted by: Al3k5aNd4R at May 16, 2008 10:41 AM

Still no updates for the Philippines. Do you guys even check these boards? How often do you update the maps?

Posted by: Fandino at July 11, 2008 4:38 AM

How often are the images updated? I looked for a building in Aberdeen, Scotland which I know has been in existence for 2-3 years and it was not on the image in July 2008. Most of the world lives outside the good old US of A and we would like to be updated occasionally.
Another thing-what is the logic behind which areas have good resolution? It seems random and illogical to me.

Posted by: Ian Ritchie at July 13, 2008 5:49 PM

Wow !. At last. We have high res imagery over major towns in Sabah, Malaysia. Thank you!.

Posted by: jayzap at July 24, 2008 8:43 AM

when are you going to update the market town of chesterfield and the surrounding areas

Posted by: jon at July 30, 2008 7:49 AM

1) Questions about updating maps seem never to be answered directly by Google. All the US maps for my regions of interest - Tenn, Ohio, Nevada, Wisconsin, Central Texas (fastest growth region in the US) - are all still over FIVE years old.

2) To those who say "don't gripe about something that is free" I say, some of us actually PAY for this service and need to use it for our work. While the 3Ds are fun, that does little to improve the basic functionality of Google service for regions whose images are LONG out of date.

Posted by: Giovangee at September 4, 2008 9:07 AM

can someone advise me how to find satellites with google earth. does it require a gps unit?

Posted by: dave at September 17, 2008 1:45 AM

When will you be updating Kirkland Lake, Ontario? Am I the only one who thinks its odd one can zoom right into Guantanamo Bay Cuba but not Northern Ontario? I see progress in the Bancroft, Ontario area, you've got my favourite lake cut right in half with high res.
Trevor.

Posted by: Trevor Allen at September 26, 2008 8:55 AM

sound good for me, unfortunatly photos of baltic countries are not good at the moment if it's not the big city

Posted by: Turas at October 16, 2008 6:56 AM

sound good for me, unfortunatly photos of baltic countries are not good at the moment if it's not the big city.when are you going to update the market town of chesterfield and the surrounding areas

Posted by: Busby Seo Test at November 3, 2008 1:06 AM

Indonesia especially Bali just add into the map since last year i think. Hope will update soon for Indonesia

Posted by: Busby SEO Test at November 30, 2008 11:31 PM

Yes, G-earth now is a powerful tool to see my Lake Toba from my computer. And the resolution also great.

Posted by: partoba @ busby seo test at December 9, 2008 8:17 AM

How often does the satellite maps get updated?

Posted by: James Morris at December 11, 2008 12:36 PM

Only famous places get frequently update. My town still look like old map.

Posted by: beginner electric guitars at December 12, 2008 3:49 AM

Photos of Philippines are not updated since year 2006, it would be nice if Google Earth update it :)

Posted by: Cheap Promotional Items at December 16, 2008 5:44 AM

This update is totally awesome! Google rocks!

Posted by: Busby SEO Test at December 16, 2008 10:59 AM

I used google earth to see my hometown.

Posted by: Busby SEO Test by intersindo at December 17, 2008 7:49 AM

Me too sometimes

Posted by: Busby SEO Test at December 26, 2008 7:58 PM

Are old Google Maps images available? How? Where? Is there an archive?

Posted by: Scott Bernhisel at December 29, 2008 12:22 AM

Thank you Google, I would like to know how often you update your maps? I have got accustomed to them and I am looking for something more exciting like "street view" everywhere. Great technology.

Posted by: jan renton at December 29, 2008 6:52 AM

Interestingly, maps.ask.com and the Yahoo Maps beta have much better imagery of Athens, Georgia than Google

Posted by: Busby SEO Test at December 30, 2008 6:12 AM

i like google earth very much, however they never updated KARACHI my home City which is one of world most cosmopolitan city now and have many changes/development since google earth updated first. lots of new towns, buildings, flyovers, bridges, malls, shopping plaza, govt. offices, Port terminals etc. new skyscrapers has been developed. so its a request to please update KARACHI detailed imagery map. Thanks.

Posted by: khan at January 1, 2009 4:36 AM

Hope this feature will show more of Asia's map so that we could make use of it in our place. But this shows great possibilities.

Posted by: Busby at January 1, 2009 9:27 AM

We are now in 2009. Australias' maps are at least 5 years old. Any chance of a more recent version. It is hard to believe a satellite has not been our way in that time.

Posted by: Ian Torode at January 3, 2009 3:14 PM

I used google earth to see my hometown. but since my connection is to lame, I did it only if I missed my hometown

Posted by: Busby at January 6, 2009 6:50 AM

G earth today is more better than a year ago. i love it.

Posted by: busby seo test!!! at January 13, 2009 2:29 AM

Hope this feature will show more of Asia's map so that we could make use of it in our place.
Busby SEO Test

Posted by: Busby SEO Test at January 19, 2009 3:20 PM

How often are the images in Google Earth updated?

Posted by: gmat at January 19, 2009 4:02 PM

Google Earth crashes more than Wile E. Cyote. I like the idea of the program but I can't stand the instability.

Posted by: jammer at January 19, 2009 4:03 PM

Death Valley elevation not given on Google Earth,Death Valley Airport -210 ft it stops at ZERO.Children who Google facts about Death Valley know that it tells them that it is below Sea level.But Google Earth Elevation STOPS AT ZERO.Lets fix this to show proper Elevations of the Google Earth,are there any other Earth locations below Sea Level?What about SEA MOUNTS and TRENCHES of the Planet Earth,Vents,other major objects BELOW SEA LEVELS.CURIO.curioch11@yahoo.com.2.08am 1.27.09

Posted by: Steven M.Mendoza at January 27, 2009 5:09 AM

Google Earth still has a few bugs, but it is the best in it's class. I can't imagine what it will be like in 20 years, maybe realtime streaming videos from satellites?

Posted by: SEO Packages at March 2, 2009 7:32 PM

I like Google earth alot now Wow, I can imagine in 20 years from now they be doing real-time updates.

Posted by: Search Engine Optimization Services at March 4, 2009 1:07 PM

how often they update their google map screenshot?

Posted by: Dubai at March 5, 2009 4:15 PM

I really like Google earth. I've been using it for hunting when I wanted to have a better idea of my territory. Such a nice tool!

Posted by: Simulation pret at May 13, 2009 2:17 AM

The posted date is 2004-------this now 2009+

when is the next fly over ?

my zip code is 33541-1417

Posted by: glenn muzik at June 17, 2009 11:36 AM

Google Maps is cool! I can find the way home when I lost the way to go home :D

Posted by: Rusli Zainal Sang Visioner at June 21, 2009 10:11 PM

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