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I zoomed into random areas like Chekka, Lebanon and Kumasi, Ghana. I hadn't heard of these places before today, but they looked big enough on Google Maps. Zoomi

by qart 5y ago

I zoomed into random areas like Chekka, Lebanon and Kumasi, Ghana. I hadn't heard of these places before today, but they looked big enough on Google Maps. Zooming in, the mosaics appeared as if they were shot years apart, with noticeably different resolutions. Could Gaza just be one such scan, rather than something sinister? > "Considering the importance of current events, I see no reason why commercial imagery of this area should continue to be deliberately degraded," Yeah, no. That does not answer the question right before it. What's with these sinister edits?

areoform 5y ago
It's one of the most heavily imaged areas in the world - on the ground, as it's an active conflict zone. In space, satellites will pass over the region every X hours no matter what. Planet's satellites have a fresh, high resolution map of the Earth ~3.5 hours. Google had, at the very least, 7 satellites imaging the Earth in 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkySat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkySat. The question isn't whether the data exists. It does. The question is, why isn't it being displayed? Correction: Google now consumes data from Planet - https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/02/google-gets-out-of-the-satellite-business/515841/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/02/googl...
- garmaine 5y ago
  Because until very, very recently it was illegal to provide commercial high resolution images of this area: https://spacenews.com/u-s-government-to-allow-sale-of-high-resolution-commercial-satellite-images-of-israel/ https://spacenews.com/u-s-government-to-allow-sale-of-high-r...
- merth 5y ago
  my guess would be that they dont want clear image of slow destruction and take overs also before after pictures.
  - azernik 5y ago
    In Gaza? There are no takeovers there, just a DMZ and periodic shooting. The original Israeli ask, accepted by the US Congress, was for all of Israel, including the Territories, to have degraded satellite imagery - as a defensive measure against foreign intelligence-gathering and targeting.
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- deleted 5y ago
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- qart 5y ago
  > The question isn't whether the data exists. It does. What is your basis for this claim? However many satellites Google has, why are the regions I named blurry too? Lebanon isn't that far away from Gaza. Cars at Chekka looked like specks. Across the sea, in Cypress, I could make out the front and rear windows of cars.
  - thaumasiotes 5y ago
    >> The question isn't whether the data exists. It does. > What is your basis for this claim? This is a really surreal response, given the part of that same comment that you seem to have forgotten to read: >> In space, satellites will pass over the region every X hours no matter what. Planet's satellite have a fresh, high resolution map of the Earth ~3.5 hours. Google had, at the very least, 13 satellites imaging the Earth in 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkySat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkySat . It is unclear, to me, how many space assets they do have, but I'm guessing they image the entire globe every week, at the very least.
    - qart 5y ago
      I asked another question too. Why not answer that, then we can discuss surrealness. Ironically, my second question was right after my first question.
      - azernik 5y ago
        If the data exists for one place at a similar latitude, then it exists for every other place at a similar latitude, by the simple laws of orbital dynamics.
        qart 5y ago
        You have a completely wrong idea of the laws of orbital dynamics. If satellites don't want to keep burning tons of fuel, they will orbit the center of the earth, not its axis. The only situation where your comment could apply is if the satellite is orbiting only above the equator. All of this, completely disregarding the economics of satellite mapping, their operational limits, etc.
- slg 5y ago
  >The question isn't whether the data exists. It does. The question is, why isn't it being displayed? I just took a look at the Google Maps for Midtown Manhattan and they appear to be from around August 2019. Google surely has newer satellite images available for NYC. What is the reason they aren't updating them? I think current events are making everyone a little too paranoid here. The images were required by law to be of lower resolution until mid-2020. The law changed and Google hasn't gotten around to updating the images yet because there is always a lag in imagery being updated. No real conspiracy theory needed.
squeaky-clean 5y ago
The article mentions the Kyl-Bingaman Amendment once around the middle, that's the main reason. The wikipedia article is short and covers it well enough, but in short: > The Kyl–Bingaman Amendment (KBA) prohibits US authorities from granting a license for collecting or disseminating high resolution satellite imagery of Israel at a higher resolution than is available from other commercial sources, that is, from companies outside of the United States. An exception exists if this is done by a US federal agency, or if it is done in order to abolish the secrecy of such recordings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyl%E2%80%93Bingaman_Amendment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyl%E2%80%93Bingaman_Amendment

by qart 5y ago

areoform 5y ago

It's one of the most heavily imaged areas in the world - on the ground, as it's an active conflict zone. In space, satellites will pass over the region every X hours no matter what. Planet's satellites have a fresh, high resolution map of the Earth ~3.5 hours. Google had, at the very least, 7 satellites imaging the Earth in 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkySat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkySat. The question isn't whether the data exists. It does. The question is, why isn't it being displayed? Correction: Google now consumes data from Planet - https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/02/google-gets-out-of-the-satellite-business/515841/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/02/googl...

garmaine 5y ago
Because until very, very recently it was illegal to provide commercial high resolution images of this area: https://spacenews.com/u-s-government-to-allow-sale-of-high-resolution-commercial-satellite-images-of-israel/ https://spacenews.com/u-s-government-to-allow-sale-of-high-r...
merth 5y ago
my guess would be that they dont want clear image of slow destruction and take overs also before after pictures.
- azernik 5y ago
  In Gaza? There are no takeovers there, just a DMZ and periodic shooting. The original Israeli ask, accepted by the US Congress, was for all of Israel, including the Territories, to have degraded satellite imagery - as a defensive measure against foreign intelligence-gathering and targeting.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
deleted 5y ago
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qart 5y ago
> The question isn't whether the data exists. It does. What is your basis for this claim? However many satellites Google has, why are the regions I named blurry too? Lebanon isn't that far away from Gaza. Cars at Chekka looked like specks. Across the sea, in Cypress, I could make out the front and rear windows of cars.
- thaumasiotes 5y ago
  >> The question isn't whether the data exists. It does. > What is your basis for this claim? This is a really surreal response, given the part of that same comment that you seem to have forgotten to read: >> In space, satellites will pass over the region every X hours no matter what. Planet's satellite have a fresh, high resolution map of the Earth ~3.5 hours. Google had, at the very least, 13 satellites imaging the Earth in 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkySat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkySat . It is unclear, to me, how many space assets they do have, but I'm guessing they image the entire globe every week, at the very least.
  - qart 5y ago
    I asked another question too. Why not answer that, then we can discuss surrealness. Ironically, my second question was right after my first question.
    - azernik 5y ago
      If the data exists for one place at a similar latitude, then it exists for every other place at a similar latitude, by the simple laws of orbital dynamics.
      - qart 5y ago
        You have a completely wrong idea of the laws of orbital dynamics. If satellites don't want to keep burning tons of fuel, they will orbit the center of the earth, not its axis. The only situation where your comment could apply is if the satellite is orbiting only above the equator. All of this, completely disregarding the economics of satellite mapping, their operational limits, etc.
slg 5y ago
>The question isn't whether the data exists. It does. The question is, why isn't it being displayed? I just took a look at the Google Maps for Midtown Manhattan and they appear to be from around August 2019. Google surely has newer satellite images available for NYC. What is the reason they aren't updating them? I think current events are making everyone a little too paranoid here. The images were required by law to be of lower resolution until mid-2020. The law changed and Google hasn't gotten around to updating the images yet because there is always a lag in imagery being updated. No real conspiracy theory needed.

squeaky-clean 5y ago

The article mentions the Kyl-Bingaman Amendment once around the middle, that's the main reason. The wikipedia article is short and covers it well enough, but in short: > The Kyl–Bingaman Amendment (KBA) prohibits US authorities from granting a license for collecting or disseminating high resolution satellite imagery of Israel at a higher resolution than is available from other commercial sources, that is, from companies outside of the United States. An exception exists if this is done by a US federal agency, or if it is done in order to abolish the secrecy of such recordings. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyl%E2%80%93Bingaman_Amendment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyl%E2%80%93Bingaman_Amendment