Bing satellite maps. Bing map in Russian. Bing Maps - online satellite maps service

Google Map is one of the most popular services today. It provides users with the opportunity to observe our planet (and not only) from a satellite online at high quality and in real time (landmarks of the planet). At some point, the primacy of the schematic view of the maps was taken over by the application "Open Street Maps". Where everyone in the know can edit a map in the style of Wikipedia, but that doesn't change anything and today Google Maps is the most popular online map service. The popularity of the maps of this company has been in first place for many years due to the good quality of satellite images in any corner of the planet, even Yandex was unable to provide such quality in its homeland.

Google Maps Online

Google continues to improve its visualization of our planet, improving the quality and detail of surfaces. More recently, the company has improved its services using the new Landsat 8 satellite, which can photograph the surface of planet Earth at a resolution of 15/30/100 meters per elementary point. The real-time satellite imagery database was previously updated only in 2013. At that time, the application used images taken by the Landsat 7 satellite, it is also known for introducing some bugs and glitches into the work of maps. To compare the quality of the images taken by different satellites, pay attention to the screen below.

Images taken by different satellites

In the examples given on the screen, you can see that the image of the new satellite shows not only improved detailing of terrestrial objects, but also more natural colors. Google announced that it has spent about 700 trillion pixels of graphics data on the next-generation mosaic of the earth's surface. Almost 43 thousand of the most powerful computers in the Google cloud have been working for a week on the gluing of pictures.

How to use Google Maps online

Anywhere in the world you can use Google Maps online in high quality using a tablet, mobile phone or computer. Just follow the link https://google.com/maps/ or use the built-in map below and you can find the country, city and even the road to the museum by specifying the required search parameters. And for mobile devices, you can download a special application that is more convenient to use.

To find your way to a laundry or a cafe that you often visit - just specify the addresses in the program line and you will no longer need to enter these data every time. In this case, you can not only view the paved road to the institution, but also familiarize yourself with information that relates to this institution, for example, opening hours, contact details, etc.

Let's use an example to use a map from Google satellite 2018.

  1. Go to the website or open the app on your mobile device.
  2. You just need to point with the cursor or touch on the touch screen and you can view the details of the area.
  3. In order to find out the distance between cities, click on one of them with the right mouse button and select "Measure distance" from the drop-down menu. Now the second point can be specified with the left mouse button. If necessary, the point can be dragged with the mouse to another location, the distance information will be updated.
  4. To select the mode "Relief", "Cycle paths", "Traffic" - select the menu sign (three stripes) and click the desired option. If you are using Apple devices, click the diamond with a layer and also on the option you want.
  5. To take advantage of high quality 3D images, click on the rectangle in the lower left corner. It will say "Satellite", if you need to return to the map mode, press it again.
  6. To select Street View mode, drag the yellow man to the desired area of ​​the map, or simply enter the exact location in the query line, preferably with your home address.
  7. Google Maps high resolution allows you to view streets in historical mode, i.e. how they have changed over time. To do this, throw the little man to the right place on the map. Select the clock icon and move the time slider to select the desired date.

Amazing facts about Google Maps


Features and benefits of online maps in real time

From the earliest days, Google Maps has been a discovery for all users. They made it possible to look at maps in a new way, to draw attention to this tool in general in a new way. Everyone who went to the Internet back in 2005 sought to immediately use online maps and see their city or country from a satellite.

It seems inconceivable, but today it is possible to view other planets of the solar system in the Google Maps application!

Planets in Google Maps

To do this, go to the web version of the program and zoom out to the maximum image of the Earth with the mouse wheel. Other planets will appear in the block on the left, which you can select to view. There are all the planets of the solar system and, in addition, several of their satellites. For example, Callisto is a satellite of Jupiter. True, the images do not allow viewing other planets as closely and in detail as is the case with the Earth.

Google satellite maps in 2018 will allow you to view the surface of the earth and settlements in excellent quality, which cannot be done using a regular map. When compiling paper and other versions of maps, natural colors, clear outlines of river banks, lakes, colors of land areas and other color schemes are omitted, which makes us poorly oriented. Having looked at the desert area on a regular map, one can only guess what kind of vegetation or relief there is. Turning to Google Maps in real time, you can even see the color and shape of the fence at any address on another continent.

In contact with

Many users are interested in satellite maps online, which make it possible to enjoy the view of our planet's favorite places from a bird's eye view. There are a lot of such services on the web, and 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.

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 an altitude of a bird's flight (250-500 meters).

The satellite maps of the highest resolution created in this way are regularly updated, and usually 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 at the top) of the screen, you can find a mention of the copyright of any company to demonstrate these cards.


Viewing satellite maps in real time is currently not available to the average user, since such tools are used primarily for military purposes. Users have access to maps, photographs for which were taken over the past months (or even years). It should be understood that any military objects may be deliberately retouched in order to hide them from interested parties.

Let's move on to a description of the services that allow us to enjoy the capabilities of satellite maps.

Google Maps - high resolution view from space

Bing Maps - online satellite maps service

Among the online cartographic services of decent quality, one cannot ignore the Bing Maps service, which is the brainchild of Microsoft. Like other resources I have described, this site provides fairly high-quality photographs of surfaces created using satellite and aerial photography.


Bing Maps is one of the most popular mapping services in the United States.

The functionality of the service is similar to the analogs already described above:

At the same time, using the search button, you can determine the online location of a specific satellite, and by clicking on any satellite on the map, you will receive 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 that of Google Maps.

Many users would like to enjoy satellite photos of their native places, to see their house, a nearby river or forest from above, in a word, everything that is usually called “small homeland”. Satellite cartographic services, which provide a unique opportunity to view all required geolocations in a detailed graphical mode, can become a tool for realizing this desire. After my attempts to view my home from a satellite online, I found really high-quality services and I will share my best practices in the article.

There is a huge variety of map services on the web that provide the user with access to high-resolution satellite maps. At the same time, the vast majority of such services use the API from "Google Maps", and only a few services (including the domestic "Yandex.Maps") can boast of their own cartographic developments, different from the dominant maps in this segment from Google.

At the same time, working with such cards is quite formulaic. You go to one of them, if necessary, turn on the satellite display, and then enter your address (locality, street, house number) in the search bar. After that, the service finds the required location, and you can use the mouse wheel to increase or decrease the existing display. If the service for some reason does not find your house, I recommend entering the name of the city (town, village) and street, and then find the desired house yourself using the mouse.


At the same time, some services allow you not only to see your house from above, but also to walk along the streets of your native city, and enjoy the view of the buildings we need close up.

Let's move on to the list of services that will help us see our home from a satellite.

Google Maps - look at your home from a satellite in real time

The world's most popular cartographic resource is undoubtedly Google Maps. In addition to maps presented in schematic and satellite views, the service also includes a 360 ° view of the streets of many cities in the world (Street View). Information about street traffic and traffic jams (Google Traffic), route planner from point A to point B, 3D display of many geographic points, other useful features.

You can use two main options to view your home:


Yandex.Maps - allows you to see the required object in Russia

Another mapping service with which you can enjoy the view of your home is Yandex.Maps. This service is the most popular in Russia, since the level of displaying the territory of Russia and the frequency of updating data for the Russian Federation exceeds all existing analogues, including generally recognized maps from Google.

Like the Google Maps service, Yandex.Maps can boast of both standard and satellite display of maps (as well as the "Hybrid" mode, which involves the application of various text and schematic markings on a satellite map). In addition, users have access to the street display mode (Yandex.Panoramas), the traffic congestion indicator (Yandex.Traffic jams), as well as the crowdsourcing system People's Map, which can be edited by any user.


To view your home using Yandex.Maps, go to the resource, type in your address in the search bar at the top, and press enter. To switch to street view mode, click on the button with binoculars at the bottom of the screen (street panoramas and photos). And then select one of the streets marked in blue (you will switch to street view mode at this point, and you can enjoy the flavor of these places).

Bing.Maps - satellite map from Microsoft

Bing.Maps is a web-based mapping service from Microsoft, formerly known as Windows Live Maps and MSN Virtual Earth. Its capabilities include satellite display of maps, street view, 3D display for 60 cities of the world, laying the optimal route and other features that are template for services of this type.


To watch your home using Bing.Maps, go to the service indicated, click on the Road to the right, and select Hybrid View. Then enter the address you need in the search bar and view the opened view.

MapQuest is a popular American mapping service

"MapQuest" (translated as "Card Search") Is a free American mapping service, the second most popular in the US after Google Maps. The resource can boast of a high degree of detailing of the streets of many countries of the world, it will help to plot a convenient route, inform about the available traffic, and much more.

To work with it, you need to go to this resource, click on the button with the globe on the right (Satelite), which will switch to the satellite display mode. After that, in the search bar on the left, enter the address you need (preferably in Latin letters), and enjoy displaying the desired location using the MapQuest service.


Service "MapQuest" - the second most popular in the United States

Conclusion

You can view your home from a satellite using the services I have listed in this material. For the territory of Russia, I would recommend the Yandex.Maps service - the level of its detail and the frequency of updated data inspire to consider Yandex maps as the best cartographic service on the territory of the Russian Federation. On a global scale, the Google Maps service is the undisputed leader, therefore it will be optimal to use the toolkit of this service to display maps of many countries of the world.

In contact with

Several applications can be used to monitor the Earth's surface and view satellite images online for free. In Russia, the most popular are two of them: Google Maps and Yandex Maps. Both services boast good quality high-resolution satellite imagery for most countries.

Yandex Maps is an online application from Russian developers, so the cities of Russia are more accurately worked out in it. It has built-in functionality for viewing traffic load data (large settlements), demographic and geodata. Google maps contain no less high-quality satellite images of the territory of the Russian Federation, but data on land plots and traffic are available only for the United States.

View a map of Planet Earth from the satellite online

Below you can see the built-in map from Google. For more stable operation of the plugin, we recommend using the Google Chrome browser. If you see an error message, please update the specified plugin and then reload the page.

Watch Google Earth from satellite, in real time online:

Another advantage of Google Maps is the presence of a client application for working with satellite images. This means that access to the service can be obtained not only through a browser, but also through a previously downloaded program. It has much more opportunities for viewing and studying satellite images, working with a three-dimensional virtual globe.

3D satellite map from Google (downloadable application, not online version) allows you to:

  • use a quick search for the desired objects by name or coordinates;
  • take screenshots and record high quality videos;
  • work offline (preliminary synchronization via the Internet is required);
  • use a flight simulator for more convenient movement between objects;
  • save "favorite places" to quickly move between them;
  • view not only the Earth's surface, but also pictures of other celestial bodies (Mars, Moon, etc.).

You can work with Google satellite maps through a client application or a browser. A plug-in is available on the official page of the program that allows you to use an interactive map on any web resource. It is enough to embed its address into the program code of the site. For display, you can select both the entire surface and a specific area (you will have to enter coordinates). Control - using a computer mouse and keyboard (ctrl + mouse wheel to zoom, cursor to move) or using the icons indicated on the map ("plus" - zoom in, "minus" - zoom out, move with the cursor).

Google Earth's service in real time allows you to work with several types of maps, each of which reflects certain data on satellite images. It is convenient to switch between them "without losing progress" (the program remembers where you "were"). Available view modes:

  • satellite landscape map (geographic objects, features of the Earth's surface);
  • physical map (detailed satellite images of the surface, cities, streets, their names);
  • schematic geographic map for a more accurate study of surface imagery.

The satellite image is automatically uploaded in the vicinity, so a stable Internet connection is required to work. For Google Earth to work offline, you need to download an application for Windows or another operating system. For its operation, the Internet is also required, but only for the first launch, after which the program synchronizes all the necessary data (satellite images of the surface, 3D models of buildings, names of geographical and other objects) after which it will be possible to work with the received data without direct access to the Internet.

Bing Maps (formerly Microsoft Virtual Earth) is an online mapping platform operated by the Bing division of Microsoft. The platform includes map tiles, map embedding APIs, routing, and more. It uses its own datasets, often licensed from third party geodata providers, and therefore its use is subject to copyright restrictions ...

Bing Maps explores working with OpenStreetMap in a variety of ways.

Contents

Aerial Bing

In November 2010, it was announced (,) that Bing had granted the right to track their aerial imagery to provide content to OpenStreetMap. Note that the only legal use for Bing maps is to use an aerial image layer as a background to create your own OSM drawing (also known as "tracing"). It is not legal to use any other information from Bing Maps (such as street names, street views, etc.).

For more information see Bing license.pdf.

Attention... In May 2018, Microsoft updated its general license terms to include specific clauses related to OpenStreetMap. In particular, in section 2:

  • 2. What rights do I have? Your rights under this Agreement are limited solely to the use of aerial photographs in the non-commercial online editor OpenStreetMap maps (the "Application"). We require you to use access credentials to use the service and require you to use transaction and / or session tracking methods for all uses of the service, as described in the applicable SDKs.
  • In addition, we grant you a limited right to use the read-only street images provided by the STREETSIDE API solely as an additional source of evidence in the OpenStreetMap editing environment. You cannot use the StreetSide API to retrieve StreetSide images or for any other use.

Some clarification of these terms may be needed (for example, what exactly is meant by a non-commercial online editor OSM). At this point, it is best to assume the following:

  • Bing Images can still be used in typical mainstream OSM editors (iD, Potlatch2, and JOSM) and in mobile editors that maintain an internet connection.
  • Active image caching for offline use is not allowed
  • Street imagery can be used to confirm filming, but not to retrieve POIs de novo.
  • Bird's eye views not available for OSM

Open in editors

  • Most commonly used editors (sorted alphabetically):
    • - Opens with bing by default, but you can select "Bing Aerial Photos" from the layer select icon on the right
    • JOSM- In the main menu bar of the program, select "Layers" then "Bing Satellite Images"
    • Potlatch 2- Opens with bing by default, but you can select "Bing" from the "background" dropdown. You can also turn off the backlight there.
  • Other editors:
    • Merkaartor- Create a new layer using New → Add New Image Layer and then change the source of the image layer to Bing using Layer → Map → Plugins → Bing (v0.17 and later).
    • Potlatch 1- not available and probably won "t ever be.

Source tag

The age of the images can be viewed using the Bing imagery analyzer for OSM (link). By changing the scale, you can view the age of the images taken at each zoom level. See discussion. Bing's currently editable OSM images are similar to the age displayed on their free-as-in-beer map.

See also Bing Maps / Coverage to learn and help document areas of available coverage.

Accuracy

Note that at lower zooms, Bing's imagery may be misaligned. That is, the alignment is not aligned in scale; one zoom will align you, but the other, you will be misaligned. This is different from other image sources in that number of Yahoo, which, if the offset tends to be constantly shifting regardless of the scale you use. This applies to various places around the world.

Areas with elevation differences (mountains, hills, bridges) seem to be more prone to this, suggesting that images were not always taken at an exact 90 degree angle (fixed images are available as a bird's eye view on Bing Map, but not allowed to use as source in OSM). As a result, objects at the same height (ground level in a flat area) can be reasonably accurate, while objects that are higher (embankments, bridges, buildings) or lower (cuttings) can be slightly off.

Use GPS tracks, other OSM data that you know is aligned, or other aligned images (if any) to align images in the local area.

Precision-discussions

  • Imagery Offset Database - Free database, functional API and JOSM offset correction plugin
  • See Talk: Bing for more ground tests.
  • See the "Bing maps is misplaced" section in the OSM-talk mail list; initial posting item link dated December 7, 2010, or full thread from Gmane "s OSM-talk archive.
  • True Offset Process - ideas for building a base of correction offsets
  • Use tools like
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