Google Maps is a leader among modern mapping services that provide satellite interactive maps online. At least the 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 Wikipedia-style mapping service where each volunteer can enter data on 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 it is in Google Maps that we can find the most detailed satellite photos for the most extensive 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 their own country.
With Google Maps, anyone can view satellite photos of the Earth for free from 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 imagery is available for cities with more than 1 million inhabitants. For smaller cities and others settlements satellite images are only available in limited resolution.
Possibilities
Google Maps or "Google Maps" was a real discovery for Internet users and indeed for all PC users, giving an unheard of and unprecedented opportunity to look at their home, their village, cottage, lake or river where they rested in the summer - from a satellite. To see it from above, from such an angle, 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 photographs, fits harmoniously into the overall Google concept of "easy access to all users to any information on the planet."
Google Maps allows you to see from the satellite at the same time those things and objects that cannot be observed at the same time when observed from the ground. Satellite maps differ from conventional maps in that on simple maps, the colors and natural shapes of natural objects are distorted by editorial processing for further publication. However, in satellite photographs, all the naturalness of nature and shooting objects is preserved, 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 a satellite photo it is immediately clear: objects are usually round or oval in shape of a unique marsh color and there are swamps. Light green patches or areas in the photo are fields, while dark green are forests. With sufficient experience of orientation in Google Maps, you can even distinguish between coniferous forest or mixed: coniferous has a more brown tint. Also on the map you can distinguish specific broken lines piercing the forests and fields of the vast Russian expanses - this railways. Only by looking from a satellite can one understand that railways affect the natural landscape that surrounds them much more 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 Earth's surface or to study in detail the layout and location of houses in any more or less large city. In the "map" mode, it is especially convenient to plan moving 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, it is enough to type in Russian in the search bar a query like: "City, street, house number" and the site will show you the location of the object you are looking for with a special marker.
How to use Google Maps
To get started, open a location.
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 mice in the place you are interested in.
To switch between satellite, mixed (hybrid) view and map, use the corresponding buttons in the upper right corner of the map: Map / Satellite / Hybrid.
Many users are interested satellite maps online, giving you the opportunity to enjoy a bird's eye view of your favorite places on our planet. There are a sufficient number of such services on the network, while all their diversity should not be misleading - most of these sites use the classic API from Google Maps. However, there are also a number of resources that use their own tools to create high quality satellite maps. In this article, I will talk about the best high-resolution satellite maps available online in 2017-2018, and also explain how to use them.
What you need to know about satellite online maps?
When creating satellite maps of the earth's surface, both images from space satellites and photos from special aircraft are usually used, which allow photographing at a bird's-eye height (250-500 meters).
The highest quality resolution satellite maps created in this way are regularly updated, and usually the images from them are no more than 2-3 years old.
Most network services do not have the ability to create their own satellite maps. Usually they use maps from other, more powerful services (usually Google Maps). At the same time, at the bottom (or top) of the screen, you can find a mention of the copyright of a company for the demonstration of these maps.
Viewing real-time satellite maps is currently not available to the average user, since such tools are used primarily for military purposes. Users have access to maps, photos for which were taken over the past months (or even years). It should be understood that any military facilities can be deliberately retouched in order to hide them from interested parties.
Let's move on to the description of services that allow us to enjoy the capabilities of satellite maps.
Google Maps - high resolution view from space
Bing Maps - online satellite map service
Among cartographic online services of decent quality, you cannot pass by the Bing Maps service, which is the brainchild of Microsoft. Like other resources I have described, this site provides fairly high-quality photos of the surface, created using satellite and aerial photography.
Bing Maps is one of the most popular mapping services in the US. The functionality of the service is similar to the analogues already described above:
At the same time, using the search button, you can determine the online location of a particular satellite, and by clicking on any satellite on the map you will get brief information about it (country, size, launch date, and so on).
Conclusion
To display high-resolution satellite maps online, you should use one of the network solutions I have listed. The most popular on a global scale is the Google Maps service, so I recommend using this resource to work with satellite maps online. If you are interested in viewing geolocations on the territory of the Russian Federation, then it is better to use the Yandex.Maps toolkit. The frequency of their updates in the relations of our country exceeds the same frequency from Google Maps.
Russia is located in the northern part of the Eurasian continent. The country is washed by the Arctic and Pacific oceans, the Caspian, Black, Baltic and Sea of Azov. Russia has common borders with 18 countries. The area of the territory is 17,098,246 sq. km.
Plains and lowlands make up more than 70% of the total area of the country. The western regions are located on the East European Plain, where lowlands (Caspian, etc.) and uplands (Central Russian, Valdai, etc.) alternate. The Ural mountain system separates the East European Plain from the West Siberian Lowland.
Satellite map of Russia online
Satellite map of Russia. Russian cities from satellite
(This map allows you to explore roads and individual cities in various view modes. For a detailed study, the map can be dragged in different directions and enlarged)
Russia is rich in huge reserves of fresh water. The largest rivers include: Lena, Angara, Yenisei, Amur, Volga, Ob, Pechora and others with their numerous tributaries. Baikal is the largest freshwater lake.
The flora of Russia consists of 24,700 varieties of plants. Most plants are in the Caucasus (6000) and the Far East (until 2000). Forests own 40% of the territory.
Diverse animal world. It is represented by polar bears, tigers, leopards, wolves and a huge variety of other animal representatives.
Oil reserves have been explored practically throughout the country. The Siberian platform is rich in coal, potash and rock salts, gas and oil. The Kursk magnetic anomaly includes the largest iron ore deposits, on the Kola Peninsula - deposits of copper-nickel ores. There are a lot of iron ores, asbestos, talc, phosphorites, tungsten, molybdenum in Gorny Altai. The Chukotka region is rich in deposits of gold, tin, mercury, and tungsten.
Thanks to geographic location Russia belongs to different climatic zones: arctic, subarctic, temperate and partly subtropical. The average January temperature (for different regions) is indicated in the range from plus 6 to minus 50°C, in July - plus 1-25°C. Annual precipitation is 150-2000 mm. Permafrost is located on 65% of the country's territory (Siberia, the Far East).
The extreme south of the European part includes the mountains of the Greater Caucasus. The south of Siberia is occupied by Altai and Sayan. northeastern part Far East and Siberia is rich in medium-altitude mountain ranges. On the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands- volcanic areas.
The population of Russia by 2013 was 143 million people. Representatives of over 200 nationalities live in the country. Of these, Russians make up about 80%. The rest are Tatars, Chuvashs, Bashkirs, Ukrainians, Chechens, Mordovians, Belarusians, Yakuts and many others.
The Russian peoples speak 100 or more languages belonging to the Indo-European, Uralic, Altaic language families. The most common spoken languages: Russian (state), Belarusian, Ukrainian, Armenian, Tatar, German, Chuvash, Chechen and others.
Russia is home to the largest Orthodox population in the world - 75% of Russians. Other common denominations are: Islam, Buddhism, Judaism.
According to its state structure, Russia belongs to the federal republic of the presidential type. It consists of 83 subjects, including:
- regions - 46,
- republics - 21,
- edges - 9,
— cities of federal significance — 2,
— autonomous districts — 4,
- autonomous region - one.
Russia has a huge tourism potential. However, this area is still waiting for its development. At the moment, in addition to the usual resort tourism, a new direction is developing, for example, rural tourism. Exist different kinds rural tourism: ethnographic, agricultural, ecological, educational, culinary (gastronomic), fishing, sports, adventure, educational, exotic, health and combined.
Rural tourism (agrarian tourism) is, first of all, nature, architectural monuments and historical places surrounding from all sides. Rooster singing in the morning and fresh milk for dinner, natural food and tourist routes abounding in beautiful views, holy springs, monasteries, deposits, the beauty of forests and fields, fishing on the lake, acquaintance with rural life, with traditional crafts, the opportunity to join the village environment and cultural heritage, hiking, cycling and horseback riding. In addition, rural tourism raises the role of local history.
This type of tourism flourishes in Europe, while in Russia it is still an incomprehensible curiosity, however, there are more and more people who want to relax in the country style.
Such a vacation away from the hustle and bustle of the city gives a huge boost of energy.
Satellite map of Russia - high resolution images taken from space by orbital stations. The image that the user sees is made up of many individual shots. The high quality of the equipment used at the orbital stations made it possible to achieve the highest quality of shooting. As a result, on the screens of mobile devices, PC monitors, high-precision high-resolution images are available to us, the image on which is very accurate and clear.
Satellite map of Russia in real time displays high-resolution images. 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, it will be possible to examine streets, buildings, individual structures and squares. The larger the size of the city, the more detailed the section of the satellite map will be for it.
Satellite map online in real time 2016 - exploring the country together
High resolution satellite maps online 2016 - a collection of high-precision images through which you can study settlements of different sizes at a specific point in time. The user, choosing the object and scale he needs, gets his picture at the same time. By choosing the appropriate parameters, instead of the "satellite view" mode, you can display an image:
- landscape view;
- a schematic representation of Russia, its individual cities;
- satellite view - real image.
High-resolution satellite maps online 2015-2016 are the most user-friendly models of interactive map images from the website service. They will allow you to travel across the territory of the entire state, from anywhere in the world. Satellites make it possible to track up-to-date data on the location and condition of certain muddy objects from different settlements of vast Russia.
Remember the movie "Men in Black", where Agent Kay looked through the orbital camera at his beloved watering flowers in the yard? The opportunity to see what our Earth looks like from a satellite in real time attracts people from all over the world. Today we will tell - and show you! - the best fruit modern technologies for earth observation.
Attention! If you see a dark screen, it means the cameras are in shadow. Screen saver or gray screen - no signal.
Usually we get only static satellite maps, frozen in time - the details are not updated for years, and the eternal flying day reigns on the street. Isn't it interesting to see how beautiful the Earth is from satellite online in winter or at night? In addition, the quality of images in some regions of Russia and the CIS leaves much to be desired. But now all this is being solved in one fell swoop - thanks to, Earth online from a satellite in real time is no longer a fantasy. Right on this page, you can join the thousands of people who are now watching the planet.
At an altitude of 400 kilometers above the planet, where the station is permanently located, NASA installed, developed by private companies. The cosmonauts themselves or on the commands of the Mission Control Center direct the cameras from which the data is being transmitted. Thanks to manual control, we can see how the Earth looks like from a satellite online from all sides - its atmosphere, mountains, cities and oceans. And the mobility of the station allows you to consider half of the globe in an hour.
How is the broadcast going?
Due to the fact that the cameras are located at the International Station, even insignificant details are noticeable to us, which are commented on by scientists, astronauts and professional journalists. However, our Earth is visible online from a satellite in real time thanks to the work of a whole complex of people and machines - in addition to the already mentioned astronauts and the Control Center, satellite communications transmission technologies, solar power batteries and technical specialists involved in translating and decoding data are involved in the process. Accordingly, the broadcast has its own nuances - knowing them will help you see more and better understand what is happening on the screen.
Our point of observation, the orbital station, moves at an enormous speed - almost 28 thousand kilometers per hour, and circles the Earth in 90-92 minutes. Half of that time, 45 minutes, the station hangs on the night side. And although on approach the solar panels of the cameras can be powered by the light of sunset, in the depths the electricity disappears - therefore it is not always available from the satellite. At such times, the broadcast screen turns gray; it is worth waiting a bit, and you will meet the dawn together with the astronauts.
To find best time for observations, our special satellite map of the Earth will come in handy - it shows not only the time of passage space station, but also its exact position. So you can find out when to see your city from a space height, or find a station in the sky with binoculars or a telescope!
We have already mentioned that astronauts and ground control can change the pointing of cameras - they perform not only an entertaining, but also a scientific function. At such moments, the planet Earth is not available from the satellite in real time - a black or blue splash screen appears on the screen, or already captured moments are repeated. If there are no interruptions in satellite communications, the station is located on the day side of the planet, and the background has suddenly changed, then the cameras are filming areas that are inaccessible to the public in connection with international treaties. Secret objects and forbidden territories are also closed on static maps, skillfully hidden by photo editors or simply erased. It remains only to wait for the moment when the situation in the world will relax, and there will be no secrets from ordinary citizens.
Hidden Features
But do not be upset if the camera does not function right now! When the planet Earth online from a satellite cannot be shown, astronauts and NASA find other entertainment for viewers. You will see life inside the International Space Station, astronauts in zero gravity, who talk about their work and what kind of satellite view of the Earth will be shown next. They even allow you to look into the impressively large Mission Control Center. The only negative is that even the speech of Russian cosmonauts is translated into English so that it is understood by the American employees who manage the Center. It is currently not possible to turn off translation. Also, do not be surprised at the silence - comments are not always appropriate, and there is no permanent soundtrack yet.
For those who predict the route of cameras using the capabilities that a real-time satellite map of the Earth gives, we have a tip - check the date and time settings on your computer. The server that updates the map uses the given International Station motion formula and your IP address timezone to predict the position of the orbital cameras. An online map judges how the Earth looks from a satellite solely by the time of the device. If your clock is behind or ahead of the time zone, the station will move east or west respectively. The use of proxy servers and anonymizers will also affect the result.
Are you a member of the science program?
Surely you have noticed that the quality of the picture of the planet Earth from space, live broadcast from the satellite, often changes - the image is covered with squares or lags behind the sound track. In most cases, it is enough to check the speed of your Internet connection, disable other video and file download programs, or click on the HD button in the broadcast window. However, if there are interruptions, it is worth remembering that the planet is visible live only thanks to a large-scale scientific experiment.
Yes, yes - the video on this page is transmitted for a reason. The cameras installed on the International Space Station are part of the High Definition Earth Viewing program, which is still being improved and developed. Cameras installed by cosmonauts in conditions isolated from cold and dust, but they are exposed to hard radiation from outside. Scientists are experimenting with the difficulties of seamless data transmission in space, ensuring that a map of the Earth from a satellite in good quality exists not only motionless, but also alive, dynamic. The results will help improve existing channels and create new ones - even in Mars orbit for the foreseeable future.
So stay in touch - in the world of space, something new appears every day!