Google Earth....Unbelievable!
 

Probably every Forum member is already well aware of this.....but for me, I was absolutely amazed by the resolution and clarity of the Google Earth satellite photo images covering most of Lake Winnipesaukee. If you haven't ever played around with Google Earth before, I highly recommend that you download the tool (and oh by the way it's free) and check out some of your favorite "haunts" around the lake. This morning I downloaded the following picture of our place on Rattlesnake Island....you can even count the number of posts on my dock. Very cool!

Like you suspected, many of us already knew this capabililty. I do think it is cool but I find google street much more impressive. I have street images of my late father doing yardwork as the street scanner went by. I hope they never update my parents street.

One caveat to the areas that are covered by the new Google Earth images is that you'll note the ice in the picture. Somewhere north and east of the Weirs the lake changes from frozen to summer time. The new images are for the southern (frozen) areas. Up north the clarity is still fuzzy on close ups.

"Street View" is fabulous. Take your cursor and "hover" over on the top right side of your Google Earth screen to SEE the Icons pop up there. The little orange man Icon will bring up street view. Go to downtown Wolfeboro to try it.

Left click on the little man icon and drag the icon off it's little pedestal an inch or so..while continuing to "Hold Down" the left mouse button. Wait a few seconds for Main Street to light up with a big blue line.

NOW: Drag the icon down to the blue line and deposit it there. Wait a few more seconds to see what happens. :look: :look:

In Google Earth, every place you can Light Up the BLUE lines on streets, roads and highways, you can drag the Icon down and look around through 360 degrees using your mouse. If you can't bring up the BLUE lines, this means the Google Earth guy hasn't been there yet. You will see what I mean. :D NB

Clarity
 

the clarity of the photos from the satelites for civilian use is very blurry compared to the actual photos the DOD uses. The DOD can even read the papers you left out on the table on your sun deck!
The DOD photos are updated in a few seconds!

The images in more populated areas down toward Boston and beyond are higher resolution. Try Newport, RI. NB

Big difference with the 2012 photos
 

When GE updated the database in May/June I was very impressed with the improved resolution. I was cleaning the boat on Mothers Day weekend and the pics must have been taken then because the boat was uncovered in my driveway and I could zoom right straight down into the interior....

BT

Did anyone ever notice that the section of the lake where Romney's place is on google earth is blurred...

Dan

Try Bing maps as well, I like their lake pictures better. There is no ice and you can actually see most of the underwater rock formations.

Be careful what you search for on Google earth, everything is recorded. Yes I'll admit I'm a little paranoid.

Street View
 

Here's how Street View is done. :) NB

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Street_View

Oh no, I looked at Area 51 recently so I am in big trouble.:D Actually the resolution coverage of Area 51 surprisingly was very good. Of course not a person or aircraft in sight.
All space borne sensors are in known orbits so objects of interest are normally placed under cover at the time of surveillance. This limits the effectiveness of such systems for intelligence gathering.

BTW on GE you can click on the clock icon in the menu bar to see earlier imagery. Too bad whoever ordered the most recent imagery of Winni did not pay attention to the ice out thread.

Google Earth pictures
 

It is my understanding that a lot of the Google photography, particularly the higher resolution stuff, is actually aerial photography, shot from aircraft, and not satellite imagery.

Not Area 51, they would have been shot down:eek:

While some may be shot from aircraft, don't really know, aerial photography of large areas can be very expensive to fly and expensive to correct the scale and registration to an accurate ground grid.

I like the google street view story that took place over in Europe a few months back of the guy urinating in his yard as the car taking images drove by....priceless!!

Ya know it's one of those things that's really cool, on the other hand in the hands of somebody up to no good.... scary!

May not think it's too cool if you have some psychopathic creep stalking you!

Just sayin....

I noticed a few weeks ago when asking GE for directions that there is a 3D animation along the whole route, a little like road runner. It is a bit creepy but very impressive.

You need special glasses for this feature. I have NOT been there. NB

That is very cool indeed! Back in the 70's my dad had the guys at Raytheon, get a shot of our dock (Hole in the Wall) when satellites mostly belonged to the Gov.Wish I still had that photo!

Why isn't the Meredith resolution this clear

I really don't know. I'm gonna guess You People out in the sticks are not that important. High Res satellite passes cost money. :D :D

I have noticed that Rural areas are just not very high resolution. After the floods in Vermont a couple of years ago..Near Rt 100 and Rt 3, I recently had a Google look. Not real high resolution....maybe not updated since the floods washed out everything. You need to look at the DATE of the SAT FlyOver.. NB

PS: The Google Earth "Street View" Resolution is the same everywhere. :)

I believe that the folks stating that it's aerial photography are correct. Aerial mapping is done on behalf of the states for their various GIS programs.

The results are in the public domain and available for free to those with the software to use, display and manipulate it.

For NH see http://www.granit.unh.edu/

For best results, the photography is generally done in the spring with minimal tree cover and more favorable lighting angles.

Google Maps/Earth, Microsoft, and many other Geographical Info Systems (GIS) providers use this calibrated photo data but often don't provide the date that each photo frame was taken. Your best detailed information will be obtained from each state's GIS public data system.

Alot of imagery is available from government research satellites that provides infrared and radar results for habitat studies but are less likely to show you enjoying your hot tub.

I've been fascinated with this field of study for a long time. The software and hardware can be a little pricey at the advanced stages but is accessable for any serious backcountry traveler. For land management organizations it's an absolute must.