nasa

Five tips to help you interpret a satellite image

December 12, 2013

We often feature some of the amazing images from the NASA Earth Observatory on our site, and they’ve recently published a post that gives some additional insight on how learn more about any satellite imagery that you come across.

Their main tips include:

Look for a scale: Sometimes the big picture can be more important than high-res details.
Look for patterns, shapes, and textures: Even clouds can give clues to the landscape below.
Define colors: Different satellite instruments can ready colors differently, so be aware of what you’re looking at.
Find north: If the image is in Google Earth, either built-in or using an image overlay, finding north is as easy as pressing the letter “n” on your keyboard. However, if you find other imagery online you may have to be careful as north isn’t always at the top of the image.
Consider your prior knowledge: If you already know what happened in an area (recent fire, for example) it can make it easier to determine what you’re looking at.

It’s a great article, so click here to read the full entry on the Earth Observatory site.

Tracking the Rim Fire in Google Earth

August 26, 2013

The “Rim Fire” in the western United States has expanded greatly after hitting Yosemite National Park, spreading in a massive blaze of over 125,000 acres.

InciWeb has some amazing maps of the fire, including a detailed look at the current perimeter of it:

While the size of the fire is clearly the biggest concern, the quantity of smoke generated by the fire is staggering. To illustrate that, the NASA Earth Observatory has released an image that was taken on August 22 which clearly shows the scale of the smoke. You can view that image in Google Earth by using this KML file.

For the latest geo-related info on the fire, the InciWeb page seems to be your best bet. If you know of other great resources, please leave a comment and let us know.

The ice of Mount Everest

August 12, 2013

We’ve looked at Mount Everest in Google Earth a number of times, including when Street View reached the mountain and the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent. The amazing size of the mountain coupled with Google Earth’s excellent views of natural formations makes it one of the best places to go sightseeing in Google Earth.

NASA’s Earth Observatory recently released some maps showing the outlines of glaciers around Everest, overlaid on top of a topographic map of the area. By matching it up and overlaying it on Google Earth, you’re given a very unique look at the mountain.

You can see it for yourself in Google Earth by using this KML file. For more, check out the full post on the NASA Earth Observatory site.

News roundup: Eiffel Tower Street View, new Maps for all, Royal Gorge Bridge

July 17, 2013

Some fun news stories for today:

The Eiffel Tower is in Street View

To go along with all of the Street View imagery that Google has been adding lately, they just added imagery from the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It’s quite impressive! The imagery was captured using the Street View Trolley, and you can view the new imagery here.

The new Google Maps is now open to all

Google unveiled the fresh look (and built-in Google Earth) for Google Maps back in May, but to this point it’s been invite-only. Starting now, however, the new Maps is open to all! As explained in this TechCrunch post, you still need to go to this page to opt-in, but there’s no longer a waiting game. The video below explains more about what’s new in Maps.

The Royal Gorge Bridge still stands

Despite incredible wildfires in central Colorado that destroyed 48 of the 52 structures at the Royal Gorge Bridge & Park, the iconic bridge was spared from the fire and suffered only minor damage. The NASA Earth Observatory site has captured some amazing imagery from the area which can be seen below or viewed in much more detail on their site.

The Bingham Canyon Mine landslide in Google Earth

June 18, 2013

Back in April, the Bingham Canyon Mine was home to the largest non-volcanic landslide in the history of North America, when nearly 70 million cubic meters of dirt and rock collapsed into the pit. The NASA Earth Observatory website has posted imagery of the post-collapse site, which can be seen here:

You can view that imagery in Google Earth by loading this KML file.

Fortunately, because of the forethought of mine ownership, no one was injured or killed in the collapse:

The company that operates the mine had installed an interferometric radar system months before the event that made it possible to detect subtle changes in the stability of the pit’s walls. Signs of increasing strain prompted the mine’s operators to issue a press release seven hours before the collapse, with a warning that a landslide was imminent. All workers were evacuated and production had stopped before the landslide occurred; as a result, no one was injured.

You can read more about the collapse and the imagery on the NASA Earth Observatory site.