Yesterday Google released Edition 2 of the ‘Voyager layer’. As we did for Edition 1, today we are having a more detailed look at the ‘Satellite imagery updates’ sublayer.
The layer itself does not give any dates as to when the imagery was added to Google Earth. As of this writing some of the imagery marked has not yet made it into ‘historical imagery’, and if it is not in the default layer, cannot be viewed at all. There is some overlap between it and the imagery we found using the Google Earth plugin. However, it does not include the image of the crater in Tianjin that was also recently added and is also not yet in ‘historical imagery’. All this suggests that it includes a number of recent updates, but not the most recent, and not all the updates since Edition 1 of the Voyager layer.
The most recent images in the collection are a pair of images captured on September 9th, 2015, of Tingri in Tibet, China.
The oldest image is the only image from 2007 and is of Chitrāl, Pakistan, and together with an image from August 11th, 2015 was probably added to assist with flood relief efforts in the region. Next oldest is an image from 2010 of a strip of Myanmar, again probably relating to flooding. We cannot yet investigate further, as these particular images are not yet in historical imagery, nor in the default layer. Both countries do feature other recent imagery in the default layer that is not listed in this layer.
Here are the total areas of the imagery by continent, (calculated using this useful site). Keep in mind that this is more than the actual total area covered, as some of the imagery overlaps.
| Continent | Area in sq kms |
|---|---|
| Africa | 434,053 |
| Asia | 1,024,896 |
| South America | 343,138 |
| Australia | 38,891 |
| Europe | 634,952 |
| North America | 398,701 |
| Oceans & Islands | 57,180 |
We have also colour coded the layer by date which you can see in Google Earth by downloading this KML file
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About Timothy Whitehead
Timothy has been using Google Earth since 2004 when it was still called Keyhole before it was renamed Google Earth in 2005 and has been a huge fan ever since. He is a programmer working for Red Wing Aerobatx and lives in Cape Town, South Africa.
It’s been a wait, but we now have welcome sizeable areas of good quality new imagery in NW Europe. Hope this marks an upturn in Google’s input to GE.
What seems to be a new feature is that a single click on any area produces a pop up giving the country’s name and an invitation to ‘fly there’ – not entirely necessary. Also has anyone else noticed that Street View View seems not to be functioning properly in certain places?
PS The pop ups appear ONLY within areas of new imagery, but the also give the date the imagery was acquired.
Some new images for my town alrass Saudi Arabia in Google maps but not yet in google earth
If I have identified the correct location (Ar Rass), then there is an image from September 4th to be found in ‘historical imagery’ whereas the default layer, and Google Maps show an image from February 25th, 2014.