Satellite image

Enjoy more free content and benefits by creating an account Saving articles to read later requires an IEEE Spectrum account The Institute content is only available for members Downloading full PDF issues is exclusive for IEEE Members Access to Spectrum's Digital Edition is exclusive for IEEE Members Following topics is a feature exclusive for IEEE Members Adding your response to an article requires an IEEE Spectrum account Create an account to access more content and features on IEEE Spectrum, including the ability to save articles to read later, download Spectrum Collections, and participate in conversations with readers and editors. For more exclusive content and features, consider Join the world’s largest professional organization devoted to engineering and applied sciences and get access to all of Spectrum’s articles, archives, PDF downloads, and other benefits. Every day, satellites circling overhead capture trillions of pixels of high-resolution imagery of the surface below. In the past, this kind of information was mostly reserved for specialists in government or the military. But these days, almost anyone can use it. That’s because the cost of sending payloads, including imaging satellites, into orbit has dropped drastically. High-resolution satellite images, which used to cost tens of thousands of dollars, now can be had for the price of a cup of coffee. What’s more, with the recent advances in Here’s a brief overview of how you, too, can access this kind of infor...

Live Satellite Maps to See Earth in Real-Time Ever since Apollo 17 captured the famous Blue Marble photograph of Earth in 1972, we have had a good idea of what our planet looks like. But have you ever wondered what Earth looks like right NOW? This article aims at showing you how to view a live satellite map of the world. From near real-time satellite views to live feeds, make sure to stay tuned and give them all a try. It uses Corrected Reflectance (True Color) from Terra/MODIS that refreshes daily. But the platform is able to publish images generally within 60 to 125 minutes after a satellite observation. Using its slick interface, you can zoom in and out of different areas. But the resolution of the imagery is 250 meters per pixel so you can’t see too much detail. The USGS pulls together Landsat 7 and 8 recordings through the EarthNow application. After a ground station receives a Landsat transmission, it takes just seconds for it to be uploaded on the You have the option of choosing to view the image in true color, which is similar to how our human eyes see the world. Otherwise, you can also select the vegetation analysis band combination to highlight chlorophyll fluorescence. One of the best things about the application is how it scans the Earth similar to a live stream video. And don’t forget that if you want to It’s true that the International Space Station has a high-definition streaming video (HDEV) mounted on it. And if you haven’t seen it before, it’s one of the ...