Google Earth Version 4 Beta - Phenomenal tool

[Xollob]

Are the images we see on Google Earth the best possible, or are there technical/legal/military reasons for keeping the resolution below what is theoretically achievable?

[Big Al1st]

I fiond the images vary from place to place. Where I live, last year you couldnt see anything. Now it is reasonably clear about 4 miles away the gets blurred.

I had a look at Langley where the CIA supposed to be.You can see very clearly but that appears to be one place where hardly anything is anotated. At least it was a month ago.

I can look at my sons house in Australia, and zoom down and see his garden and swimming pool very clearly. Everytime I am fed up I have a look and get even more fed up. Rgds

[Dollie]

Yes its quite strange - I can see my house very clearly - I can see our car in the drive and the bushes in my garden. When I pan over my son's house in Scarborough - its just a big blur and you can't get down far enough over it to make even a street out let alone a house. It differs from area to area it seems.

[Big Al1st]

Hi Dollie, Agree but it does seem to get better each issue. I notice that they use it some time on one of the two major news programs

[PinkFizz]

I can see my familys houses so clear it is unbelievable,yet cant get an image of my house at all - just a massive blur.Just one quistion,and there is probably a very good answer - why do you not see any people on the images,nobody ever in the garden etc.Or is it just me?

[Big Al1st]

Hi Pink, I've thought that too although you do see cars on the move, planes flying ect. Also hardly any clouds Global warming??? Rgds Al

[Postdog]

Hardly any clouds!!!!

When I first got google earth, I did my house, as you do, and the picture was brilliant. A little while ago though they got new pictures for the area, and now my house is under a cloud. I can't see a thing.

[jake-the-peg]

You know the Hubble Telescope that points out?

You don't actually think there aren't similarly capable installations pointing down do you?

There are now pictures from Russian spy satelites commercially available with a resolution of 2m

http://catalog.sovinformsputnik.com/

I'd imagine military capability is below a meter

[heathfield]

Google Earth images seem to be updated as they become available. High population areas look like they have priority over sparser regions. In shots of a city near me you can actually make out the colour of clothes the pedestrians are wearing, but for my local small town, it's so blurred you can't even see any individual streets or houses.

[PinkFizz]

well my b/f's mum lives in a really busy road near Croydon,and we zoomed in on her house/road,can ecen see the flowers in her garden,but not a solitary person in her road,or any garden,for the whole length of the road,or in the school!

[gazzawazza]

If you look at the eiffel tower you can see it very clearly and there are loads of people on the ground. I typed in Roswell and came back with no images loaded. I'm probably being watched by the FBI or CIA's own satellite now!

[Homer55]

You can even look at area 51 even though it doesnt exist!!