6 ms·

Screenshot for when it will have been deleted by Google https://i.imgur.com/toSC5a0.png https://i.imgur.com/toSC5a0.png .

jacquesm 5y ago
Super, thank you!
okl 5y ago
Here's another: https://www.google.com/maps/place/39%C2%B001'18.5%22N+93%C2%B035'40.5%22W/@38.7250343,-93.5601605,261m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xd87af7588b9c362e!8m2!3d39.0218056!4d-93.5945833 https://www.google.com/maps/place/39%C2%B001'18.5%22N+93%C2%...
ssnistfajen 5y ago
Would be disappointing for them to remove it for basically no reason, especially considering you can see a B-2 parked on the tarmac (https://www.google.com/maps/place/38%C2%B043'29.9%22N+93%C2%B033'37.0%22W/@38.7250408,-93.5604979,184m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x943968ed52c54f3f!8m2!3d38.7249797!4d-93.5602792 https://www.google.com/maps/place/38%C2%B043'29.9%22N+93%C2%...) in the nearby Whiteman AFB. The B-2 was first flown 32 years ago. Its existence is neither covert or secret, but often used to do flybys at freaking football games where thousands of recording devices are present and active. There's virtually no national security risk with these images because any imagery obtainable by Google Maps would've been obtainable by whatever adversary long ago, plus some more.
- zelon88 5y ago
  Correct, but don't misunderestimate the power of knowledge. Let's assume that some adversary is out there keeping track of these planes, and knows that they can scan Google maps for the RGB artifact by the engines to locate them reliably and programmatically. Now Google maps becomes a repository for information that adversary may use to validate other information. Maybe this confirms the schedule for some training excersise. Maybe this particular B2 being in this location validates or invalidates other information about US troop strength abroad. I was taught to always "assume your adversary is capable of going through your trash" and try to prepare my "trash" accordingly.
  - ssnistfajen 5y ago
    The fatal premise is assuming Google Maps updates these areas frequently enough to provide useful info. The military security implications of Google Earth have existed since its launch and Google Maps by relation is no stranger to it. This is not new info and it hardly counts as "knowledge" much less with "power". Reconnaissance satellite technology isn't US-exclusive (https://www.dw.com/en/modern-spy-satellites-in-an-age-of-space-wars/a-54691887 https://www.dw.com/en/modern-spy-satellites-in-an-age-of-spa..., Ctrl+F "Spy satellites in numbers") and those who have a meaningful need to track B-2 movements most likely have their own tools that are up to date, more accurate, and not bound by laws or regulations a US domiciled company is subjected to. What we see on Google Maps is almost guaranted to be 100% "trash" from a military intelligence perspective because actual valuable information has always been obtainable without Google Maps for entities who are capable and in need.
  - HideousKojima 5y ago
    Similar to how the president brings his own toilet when doing foreign visits so enemies can't analyze his poop to see what medicines he's taking or what medical conditions he has.
    - carabiner 5y ago
      Kim Jong Un does that, but I can't find record of any other world leader doing so. That takes a special level of paranoia.
      - HideousKojima 5y ago
        Can't find a source on the president doing that at the moment, but Stalin examined the poop of visiting leaders: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35427926 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35427926
    - adolph 5y ago
      That would be some Gattaca level paranoia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gattaca https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gattaca
- notatoad 5y ago
  i doubt they'd remove it for security reasons - as you say, there's nothing secret about what this plane is doing here. more that they'd remove it for the same reasons they remove clouds or any other in-air objects that obscure the thing they're actually trying to take photos of. the plane isn't part of the map, so it shouldn't be on the map. even if it's not obscuring anything, they use satellite photos to generate building outlines, and this isn't a building. given how many planes there are flying all the time, and how infrequently you see them on google maps, they must make an effort to publish satellite imagery that doensn't have planes in it.
- jcrawfordor 5y ago
  I wouldn't expect it to get deleted for any kind of security reason... but it will get replaced, and possibly faster because there's a defect. Moving object artifacts are undesirable and make the image more difficult to use especially for automation (such as Google's registration). They tend to get knocked out automatically over time as the composition algorithms try to keep a neatly consistent scene. They may even be handled as clouds depending on which methods Google uses to avoid cloud cover. This is the same force that has slowly worked most alignment and registration marks out of Google imagery (for a long time aerial imagery usually contained registration marks etched into the camera optics), although you will still find them especially in areas that are more challenging to register by machine vision (deserts, etc). Aircraft in Keyhole and Google Earth used to be extremely common before the composition methods improved and more imagery sources became available. You could just about make out the traffic pattern at some airports. You can still find them but they're much rarer today.
  - jaytaylor 5y ago
    Too bad they can't mark a tile (such as this one) to preserve forever from the backend control plane.
- magicroot75 5y ago
  Wait until you see what's hiding in the cornfield under the B-2.
Tempest1981 5y ago
Is Google taking their own satellite pictures now, or are these from Maxar, or another provider?
- iFreilicht 5y ago
  This particular image was done by Maxar, you can see it in the lower right corner.
carabiner 5y ago
lol why would they? The B-2 even flies with radar reflectors in civil airspace so that ATC can track it.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
pigbearpig 5y ago
Ugh, so when Google does a normal map update, unless there just happens to be a B-2 flying in the same spot, the conspiracy nutjobs are going to think there's some Google / US government conspiracy. The truth is the fact these planes exist and that there is a base nearby is public knowledge. Any country that cares already has its satellite imagery at much higher resoltion and realtime.
- iFreilicht 5y ago
  You can already see it happening in the first reply to this parent: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29628333 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29628333

jacquesm 5y ago

Super, thank you!

okl 5y ago

Here's another: https://www.google.com/maps/place/39%C2%B001'18.5%22N+93%C2%B035'40.5%22W/@38.7250343,-93.5601605,261m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0xd87af7588b9c362e!8m2!3d39.0218056!4d-93.5945833 https://www.google.com/maps/place/39%C2%B001'18.5%22N+93%C2%...

ssnistfajen 5y ago

Would be disappointing for them to remove it for basically no reason, especially considering you can see a B-2 parked on the tarmac (https://www.google.com/maps/place/38%C2%B043'29.9%22N+93%C2%B033'37.0%22W/@38.7250408,-93.5604979,184m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x943968ed52c54f3f!8m2!3d38.7249797!4d-93.5602792 https://www.google.com/maps/place/38%C2%B043'29.9%22N+93%C2%...) in the nearby Whiteman AFB. The B-2 was first flown 32 years ago. Its existence is neither covert or secret, but often used to do flybys at freaking football games where thousands of recording devices are present and active. There's virtually no national security risk with these images because any imagery obtainable by Google Maps would've been obtainable by whatever adversary long ago, plus some more.

zelon88 5y ago
Correct, but don't misunderestimate the power of knowledge. Let's assume that some adversary is out there keeping track of these planes, and knows that they can scan Google maps for the RGB artifact by the engines to locate them reliably and programmatically. Now Google maps becomes a repository for information that adversary may use to validate other information. Maybe this confirms the schedule for some training excersise. Maybe this particular B2 being in this location validates or invalidates other information about US troop strength abroad. I was taught to always "assume your adversary is capable of going through your trash" and try to prepare my "trash" accordingly.
- ssnistfajen 5y ago
  The fatal premise is assuming Google Maps updates these areas frequently enough to provide useful info. The military security implications of Google Earth have existed since its launch and Google Maps by relation is no stranger to it. This is not new info and it hardly counts as "knowledge" much less with "power". Reconnaissance satellite technology isn't US-exclusive (https://www.dw.com/en/modern-spy-satellites-in-an-age-of-space-wars/a-54691887 https://www.dw.com/en/modern-spy-satellites-in-an-age-of-spa..., Ctrl+F "Spy satellites in numbers") and those who have a meaningful need to track B-2 movements most likely have their own tools that are up to date, more accurate, and not bound by laws or regulations a US domiciled company is subjected to. What we see on Google Maps is almost guaranted to be 100% "trash" from a military intelligence perspective because actual valuable information has always been obtainable without Google Maps for entities who are capable and in need.
- HideousKojima 5y ago
  Similar to how the president brings his own toilet when doing foreign visits so enemies can't analyze his poop to see what medicines he's taking or what medical conditions he has.
  - carabiner 5y ago
    Kim Jong Un does that, but I can't find record of any other world leader doing so. That takes a special level of paranoia.
    - HideousKojima 5y ago
      Can't find a source on the president doing that at the moment, but Stalin examined the poop of visiting leaders: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35427926 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35427926
  - adolph 5y ago
    That would be some Gattaca level paranoia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gattaca https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gattaca
notatoad 5y ago
i doubt they'd remove it for security reasons - as you say, there's nothing secret about what this plane is doing here. more that they'd remove it for the same reasons they remove clouds or any other in-air objects that obscure the thing they're actually trying to take photos of. the plane isn't part of the map, so it shouldn't be on the map. even if it's not obscuring anything, they use satellite photos to generate building outlines, and this isn't a building. given how many planes there are flying all the time, and how infrequently you see them on google maps, they must make an effort to publish satellite imagery that doensn't have planes in it.
jcrawfordor 5y ago
I wouldn't expect it to get deleted for any kind of security reason... but it will get replaced, and possibly faster because there's a defect. Moving object artifacts are undesirable and make the image more difficult to use especially for automation (such as Google's registration). They tend to get knocked out automatically over time as the composition algorithms try to keep a neatly consistent scene. They may even be handled as clouds depending on which methods Google uses to avoid cloud cover. This is the same force that has slowly worked most alignment and registration marks out of Google imagery (for a long time aerial imagery usually contained registration marks etched into the camera optics), although you will still find them especially in areas that are more challenging to register by machine vision (deserts, etc). Aircraft in Keyhole and Google Earth used to be extremely common before the composition methods improved and more imagery sources became available. You could just about make out the traffic pattern at some airports. You can still find them but they're much rarer today.
- jaytaylor 5y ago
  Too bad they can't mark a tile (such as this one) to preserve forever from the backend control plane.
magicroot75 5y ago
Wait until you see what's hiding in the cornfield under the B-2.

Tempest1981 5y ago

Is Google taking their own satellite pictures now, or are these from Maxar, or another provider?

iFreilicht 5y ago
This particular image was done by Maxar, you can see it in the lower right corner.

carabiner 5y ago

lol why would they? The B-2 even flies with radar reflectors in civil airspace so that ATC can track it.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

pigbearpig 5y ago

Ugh, so when Google does a normal map update, unless there just happens to be a B-2 flying in the same spot, the conspiracy nutjobs are going to think there's some Google / US government conspiracy. The truth is the fact these planes exist and that there is a base nearby is public knowledge. Any country that cares already has its satellite imagery at much higher resoltion and realtime.

iFreilicht 5y ago
You can already see it happening in the first reply to this parent: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29628333 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29628333