The best maps from satellite. Satellite map of the earth

World map from satellite

A very interesting sight is a map of the world observed from a satellite. Its appearance is completely different from what we usually see when looking at a geographical map. A satellite map is more like a photograph, as there are no boundary markers.

Google maps

It does not resemble the maps we are used to - neither physical nor geographical. But if you wish, you can bring the image of the world map from a satellite into the form that is familiar to us. This work was carried out by the Google service, thereby making the use of satellite maps more convenient. Moreover, he made the image interactive, allowing users to work with it online by displaying it on the monitor.

Working with such a map is easy; using the map control panel you can change the scale, zooming in or out of the image. The high resolution of Google Maps makes it possible to plot the best options for transport routes, find hotels, restaurants, cinemas, and so on.

The resource displays traffic jams in big cities, as well as, if necessary, the terrain. With Google you can access a unique view of individual streets. To do this, just press the button depicting a little man at the bottom right. And if you click on the show photos button, you will see available photos of the place you are looking for.

Google world map from satellite online:
(You can zoom in and out of the map using the + and - signs)

Yandex maps

Yandex is not far behind Google, providing users with its own version of maps, which can also be worked with online. Unlike Google, Yandex maps have a much higher level of detail on Russian territory.

Since the maps of such services are satellite photographs, they may sometimes not be up-to-date. To avoid serious mistakes, Yandex, for example, in 2018 updates its maps every 2 weeks.

On the Yandex Maps service, you can use several ways to work with a document:

  • move cards;
  • increase their size;
  • measure distances on it;
  • pave the way;
  • find a country, city, street, house;
  • see the state of traffic on city streets, both current (traffic jams) and future prospects.

The user has three options for displaying maps, they are named:

  • schematic layer;
  • satellite layer;
  • hybrid (this is satellite, supplemented with inscriptions).

You can use any of the services, not forgetting that information on Russia is better displayed by Yandex due to the higher frequency of updates. And on a global scale, it is better to use Google maps, made in high resolution.

But you can look at such a map from a satellite on the Yandex Maps service.

World map from satellite from Yandex maps online:
(Use + and – to change the map scale)

Created using Yandex.Maps tools

Now, any point in the world can be seen from a satellite and perhaps soon we will be able to observe the earth in real time, around the clock. Given the pace of development of mapping services, this should happen in the near future.

Satellite map of Russia - high-resolution images taken from space by orbital stations. The image that the user sees consists of many individual images. The high quality of equipment used at orbital stations made it possible to achieve the highest quality of imaging. As a result, on the screens of mobile devices and PC monitors, we have access to high-precision, high-resolution images, the image of which is very accurate and clear.

The satellite map of Russia displays high-resolution images in real time. You can see almost all Russian cities on them. By zooming in and out of objects, moving the cursor over individual sections of the map, you will be able to view streets, buildings, individual structures and squares. The larger the city, the more detailed the satellite map section will be for it.

Satellite map online in real time 2016 - exploring the country together

High resolution satellite maps online 2016 - a set of high-precision images through which you can study settlements of different sizes at a specific point in time. The user, selecting the object and scale he needs, receives a snapshot of it at the same point in time. By selecting the appropriate parameters instead of the “satellite view” mode, you can display the image:

  • landscape view;
  • schematic representation of Russia and its individual cities;
  • Satellite view - real image.

Online high-resolution satellite maps of 2015-2016 are the most user-friendly models of interactive map images from the website service. They will allow you to travel throughout the entire state, from anywhere in the world. Satellites make it possible to track current data on the location and condition of various muddy objects from different settlements in vast Russia.

Navigation charts can be needed in a variety of situations. Either you are lost in the forest, or you are looking for the necessary street in the city. A service that can help you deal with this is Google Maps. It consists of a couple of applications. Namely: from the Google Maps website and Google Transit (routing program). Thanks to the fact that Google transmits data directly from the satellite, with the help of these maps you can find out a detailed route map, house numbers, street names, as well as how you can walk or drive (by car, bus, bicycle) to your destination.
This service is a large reference book covering many areas of life: from traveling to planning a walk or going on vacation.

Appearance

The map can be displayed for users in two versions:
  • traditionally (topographic map, analogue of Mercator);
  • satellite images (not online, but taken some time ago).
Based on the Mercator projection, a map scale was created that is constant: towards the equator from the poles it decreases and vice versa.
A sister project to Google Maps, Google Planet (corresponds to a globe), complements the service of images of the Earth's poles.

Peculiarities

Not all countries disclose information about the location of their facilities. Therefore, places on the map where there are classified areas shaded. These include, for example, the White House, the Capitol.

Different areas of land have different resolutions on the map. The lower the population density of an area, the less details are known about it. Some places on the map are hidden under clouds. Although not all objects were taken from the satellite. The images of some of them were obtained thanks to aerial photography from a height of 300 meters or more. In such places, the detail of the terrain reaches high values.

Service interface

Google Maps is very easy to use. This app was made for people and that's how it works. On the left side there is a button for switching the appearance of cards ( topographical or satellite view). And on the right side of the screen the user can find zoom buttons ( increase and decrease).
The system allows its users to enter the address or name of an object and obtain information about its location, address, coordinates, and appearance. For some areas, a “what’s there” recognition service is available, and Google Maps will show which object (gas station, museum, store, theater) is located there.

Google online maps javascript service is widely used. New areas of the map appear on the page as the user moves it around the screen. If the address of a specific object has been entered, the page is reloaded and the location of the desired place is displayed on the map with a dynamic red marker icon.

So that the map can be hosted by owners of other sites, Google has announced a free service: API Maps(Application Programming Interface) in 2005. This map can be added to any area of ​​the site. There are currently more than 350 thousand of them around the world.

About Google Maps

As of 2011, Google announced that it provides its mapping service to more than 150 million customers. This makes the service one of the largest and most ambitious Internet navigation services.
Interactive Google Maps is a free service, courtesy of Google Corporation, which does not contain advertising, but only provides high-quality and verified information about the location and purpose of objects around the world.

What are Google Maps? This is a service that consists of several applications provided for free, and includes the mapping site Google Maps and a route planning program (Google Transit). Maps from Google offer a satellite view of many cities on the planet and include a detailed layout of streets, houses, routes for traveling by public transport or car, a guide to various objects, etc.

Features of work

Google Maps is displayed in two variations:

  • an ordinary traditional map (analogous to Mercator maps)
  • and satellite images (not online, but taken a certain time ago).

The scale of the maps is also based on the Mercator projection, that is, it is constant and changes from the poles to the equator downward.

Another separate project of the corporation is closely related to Google Maps - Google Planet, which corresponds to a globe on which the regions of the Earth's poles are clearly visible.

What locations are satellite imagery available for? Not for everyone, but only for large cities in Russia, England, America, Canada and others.

Not all governments have approved such placement and use of images (since the placement of some objects that are clearly visible on maps can be used by terrorists to plan and carry out attacks).

That is why many objects on maps are shaded. Such “classified” objects include, for example, the White House or the Capitol.

Different places on satellite images are shown in different resolutions - the less populated the area, the less detailed it is. Also, some places in the pictures may be hidden due to cloud shadows.

Google Maps online

  • switch to satellite mode- lower left corner;
  • zoom in/out- lower right corner.

As soon as the company introduced the new service, a wave of interest in satellite images swept across the world.

The creation of websites began on which satellite images of interesting places, unusual architectural landmarks, stadiums, and man-made formations began to be freely available. Since 2008, the US Weather Service began using Google Maps to prepare its forecasts.

It should be noted that not all images were taken from a satellite - most of the images were obtained through aerial photography from a height of 300 meters.

Google Maps online maps make fairly extensive use of JavaScript. As the user moves around the map by dragging it, new areas are downloaded from the server and displayed on the page.

If the user is looking for specific objects, the search result is inserted into the sidebar, and the page itself does not require a reload. The location on the map is displayed dynamically via a red marker icon.

  • In 2006 The first version for mobile phones appeared in 2007, and the second version appeared in 2007. A service similar to GPS is used to determine the location of the phone.
  • In 2008 year Google Maps could be used for Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian, BlackBerry, Java (from 2+), IOS (Apple), Palm OS (Centro+).
  • In 2011 In 2018, the corporation announced that it provides mapping services to more than 150 million customers.

To allow owners of third-party sites to use Maps, Google announced in 2005 a free Maps API (Application Programming Interface) service.

The map can be placed on any website using this technology for software interaction. Today there are more than 350 thousand such sites around the world.

Google Maps is a leader among modern mapping services that provide satellite interactive maps online. At least a leader in the field of satellite imagery and in the number of various additional services and tools (Google Earth, Google Mars, various weather and transport services, one of the most powerful APIs).

In the field of schematic maps, at some point, this leadership “was lost” in favor of Open Street Maps - a unique mapping service in the spirit of Wikipedia, where every volunteer can contribute data to the site.

However, despite this, the popularity of Google Maps remains perhaps one of the highest of all other mapping services. Part of the reason is that Google Maps is where we can find the most detailed satellite photos for the largest regions of any country. Even in Russia such a large and successful company as Yandex cannot surpass the quality and coverage of satellite photographs, at least in its own country.

With Google Maps, anyone can view free satellite photos of the Earth almost anywhere in the world.

Image quality

The highest resolution images are usually available for the largest cities in the world in America, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Asia, Oceania. Currently, high-quality images are available for cities with a population of more than 1 million inhabitants. For smaller cities and other populated areas, satellite imagery is only available in limited resolution.

Possibilities

Google Maps or “Google Maps” was a real discovery for Internet users and indeed all PC users, giving an unheard of and previously unseen opportunity to look at their home, their village, cottage, lake or river where they vacationed in the summer - from a satellite. To see it from above, from a perspective from which it would be impossible to see it under any other circumstances. The discovery, the very idea of ​​giving people easy access to satellite photos, fits harmoniously into Google's overall vision of “easily providing everyone with access to any information on the planet.”

Google Maps allows you to see from a satellite simultaneously those things and objects that cannot be observed at the same time when observed from the ground. Satellite maps differ from ordinary maps in that on simple maps the colors and natural forms of natural objects are distorted by editorial processing for further publication. However, satellite photographs preserve all the naturalness of nature and the objects being photographed, natural colors, shapes of lakes, rivers, fields and forests.

Looking at the map, one can only guess what is there: a forest, a field or a swamp, while on satellite photography it is immediately clear: objects, usually round or oval in shape, with a unique swamp color, are swamps. The light green spots or areas in the photograph are fields, and the dark green ones are forests. With enough experience in orientation in Google Maps, you can even distinguish whether it is a coniferous forest or a mixed forest: coniferous has a browner tint. Also on the map you can distinguish specific broken lines piercing the forests and fields of the vast Russian expanses - these are railways. Only by looking from a satellite can one understand that railways have a much greater influence on the natural landscape surrounding them than roads. Also in Google Maps, it is possible to overlay maps with the names of regions, roads, settlements on a national scale and the names of streets, house numbers, metro stations on a city scale on a satellite image of an area or city.

Map mode and satellite view mode

In addition to satellite images, it is possible to switch to the “map” mode, in which it is possible to view any territory on the surface of the Earth and study in detail the layout and location of houses of any more or less large city. In the "map" mode it is especially convenient to plan your movements around the city if you have already seen enough satellite views of your city.

The search function by house number will easily point you to the desired house, giving you the opportunity to “look around” the area around this house and how you can drive up/approach it. To search for the required object, just type in Russian in the search bar a query like: “City, street, house number” and the site will display to you the location of the object you are looking for using a special marker.

How to use Google Maps

To begin, open some place.

To move around the map, left-click on the map and drag it in any order. To return to the original position, press the centering button located between the four direction buttons.

To enlarge the map, click on the button "+" or roll the mouse roller when the cursor is over the map. You can also enlarge the map double click mouse in the location you are interested in.

To switch between satellite, mixed (hybrid) and map views, use the corresponding buttons in the upper right corner of the map: Map / Satellite / Hybrid.