Free Satellite Image of My House | Universe Today

Written by Fraser Cain

Just the other day I was wondering how I could get a free satellite image of my house. There are so many resources available through the internet these days that you have many options. They're all available through the internet, and they're all free. We live in a pretty amazing time, when you think of it.

Probably the best, and easiest, place to get a free satellite image is from Google Maps. This is a free service from Google that you can access from any web browser. It dynamically loads up images from Google's server showing any spot on Earth. As you drag the satellite image around, it accesses new maps to continue showing you a view from space. You can zoom in, and it shows you higher resolution images, and you can zoom back out again. You can also type in a specific address and it will zoom right in on that location, anywhere on Earth. Google Maps also has some additional tools, like street maps, and driving directions. And there are many tools that have been built on top of Google Maps to let you find and map anything.

An even cooler tool than Google Maps is Google Earth. Unlike Google Maps, though, you need to install Google Earth onto your computer. They have a version for PC, Mac, Linux, and even the iPhone. Once you've installed the software, you can see a cool 3-D spinning planet Earth. You can zoom in and out, and spin the planet around. It's very similar to Google Maps, with driving directions and finding locations, but it also has a lot of cool modules and overlays that you can install. These can show you nearby landmarks and image galleries that other people have seen.

If you don't want to use Google, no problem, both Microsoft and Yahoo have developed alternatives. Microsoft's mapping tool is called Bing Maps, and it was recently updated with the release of Bing. Yahoo's service is called Yahoo Maps. If you're not sure what to choose, between Google and Yahoo, check out this cool tool that lets you see the two mapping systems side-by-side. When I was looking for a satellite image of my house, I noticed the Yahoo doesn't have as high resolution for my area, but it might be the opposite for other areas, so you should check it out for yourself.

We have written many articles here on Universe Today about how scientists use satellites to study the Earth from above. Here's an article about the GOCE satellite that's mapping the Earth's gravity, and how you can watch satellite data in action.

We have also recorded an entire episode of Astronomy Cast just about the planet we live on. Check it out, Episode 51: Earth.

Filed under: Astronomy