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new imagery

New Google Earth layers: Satellite imagery updates

July 1, 2015

On Monday, Google introduced some new layers to Google Earth under the title ‘Voyager’. They all contain information that was previously available, but not as easily accessible as in the new layers.

Today we are looking at the new layer called ‘Satellite imagery updates’. This layer shows the outlines of imagery that has recently been added to Google Earth. Google has published this information in the past, most recently via this Google map. There are, however, a few key differences between this new layer and the Google map:

  • The Google map only shows overall outlines of the updates, whereas the new layer shows each individual image. So when there are overlapping images, the new layer is more informative.
  • The new layer lets you click on an individual image and it will give you the date the image was acquired. Although it was possible to figure out the imagery dates from the Google map via a bit of detective work, this certainly makes it much easier and is a welcome improvement.
  • The Google map shows the data for one particular update (as of this writing, the update of May 27th, 2015 ). The new layer shows data from multiple updates: as of this writing it includes the update from June 8th, 2015 and some extra imagery that we believe has been added since then but hasn’t been reported via the map.
  • If you click the ‘download’ link found below the other layers, it will copy the Voyager layer to your ‘My Places’ in a format that includes more detail. For the ‘Satellite imagery updates’ layer, the data is categorized by continent and country. The Google map, on the other hand, does not allow you to save the data in any way other than a screen shot, and since Google regularly updates the map, there is no good record of past updates.
  • Once you have the data in your ‘My Places’, you can save the data to KML files for further analysis. This is not possible with the Google Map, which is essentially copy protected.

Since we are allowed to access the KML, with the help of this useful website we can work out the total area of the new imagery by continent:

Continent Area (sq. km)
Asia 342,988
North America 314,332
Africa 125,841
Europe 100,481
South America 43,019
Australia 20,346
Oceans & Islands 6,098
Total 953,104

Note that no allowance has been made for overlapping imagery, so the above figures are the area of the imagery added and not the area of land surface covered.


Durban, South Africa, got a lot of imagery – we don’t know why.

It must be noted that imagery displayed in this layer is not necessarily recent imagery. To learn more about interpreting Google’s imagery updates maps see this series of posts. The oldest image we have found so far in the new layer is of the Japanese Island of Kuchinoerabu captured on September 19th, 2012. We believe it was added because of the volcanic eruption on the island that happened in May this year. Imagery of the eruption itself has not yet been added to Google Earth, but this old image might have been added to aid rescue workers.

We have also noticed that imagery of Guam captured in May has been added to Google Earth. This is imagery that relates to Cyclone Dolphin that struck Guam on May 15th, 2015. Although the imagery is from the days following the Cyclone, we have not been able to identify any damage caused. This imagery is not noted on either the new layer or any of the update maps published by Google. This suggests that there have been updates since the new layer was made.

Filed Under: Site News Tagged With: New Google Earth layers, new imagery, voyager layer

Google Earth Imagery – May 27th, 2015

June 26, 2015

Google have updated their ‘Latest Google Earth Imagery Updates’ map to show an update on May 27th, 2015. They previously had an updates map for June 8th, which we already looked at, so it appears that they are going backwards. We are not complaining, since we welcome any information on imagery updates, as it allows us to look through the new imagery for interesting finds. If you see anything interesting let us know in the comments.

We should note however that this update is already included in the May 2015 updates map.


Latest Google Earth Imagery map – May 27th, 2015. Larger version.

View it in Google Earth using this KML file. As always, this is a network linked KML and will update as Google updates their map. The only way we know of for keeping a permanent record is via a screenshot.

Filed Under: Site News Tagged With: new imagery

New Google Earth Imagery – August 5th, 2014

August 21, 2014

[Update: The map and KML in this post automatically updates as Google updates their Maps Gallery version. As of this update, the map being displayed is for August 13th, 2014.]

It appears Google pushed out some fresh imagery updates a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to sharp-eyed GEB reader ‘Maarten’ for letting us know about it.

To see which areas have been updated, see the map below from Google’s Maps Gallery.

You can also view it in Google Earth, using this KML file. The new imagery is in both Google Earth and Google Maps.

It is important to remember that although the update was done on August 5th, the actual imagery is slightly older. Most of it seems to have been taken some time in the last two years, although some is quite recent – where I live in Cape Town, South Africa, the new imagery is from June 11th, 2014.

Filed Under: Google Earth News Tagged With: imagery update, new imagery

New Google Earth Imagery – November 12, 2013

November 12, 2013

It appears that Google has just pushed out a fresh batch of imagery!  Thanks to GEB reader ‘David’ for being the first to tell us about it, and ‘Munden’ for digging in and finding additional fresh locations.

mackinac

This imagery has already arrived in Google Maps now, making it difficult to determine which is imagery is brand new. Fortunately, we know a few of the areas that have been updated, which include:

  • Italy: Brindisi
  • United States: Idaho (Hailey, Ketchum, Twin Falls), Iowa (Des Moines, Ottumwa), Maine (Caribou, Clayton Lake, Presque Isle, St. Agatha), Michigan (Gaylord, Grand Rapids, Mackinac Island, Muskegon, Owosso), Nevada (Cold Springs, Gerlack, Winnemucca), North Dakota (Garrison, Parshall), South Dakota (Hill City, Mount Rushmore, New Underwood, Rapid City, Sturgis)

If you find any other updated areas, please leave a comment and let us know!

Filed Under: Google Earth News, Sightseeing Tagged With: imagery, mackinac, new imagery



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This blog and its author are not an official source of information from Google that produces and owns Google Earth Google and Google Earth are trademarks of Google Inc.. All image screenshots from Google Earth are Copyright Google. All other trademarks appearing here are the trademarks of their respective owners.