All About Satellite Imagery
Although it is fun to look at an aerial view of your house or neighborhood from a satellite image, satellite imagery has more important uses. Satellite imagery is used in
an impressive number of industries and fields. For example, in agriculture, satellite imagery is used to assess the topography of the land to see if it is suitable for growing. If the terrain looks flat and smooth from the imagery, it would be okay to grow on. If the terrain looks hilly and rocky, it might not be suitable for farming or other agricultural uses. Also, farmers must pay attention to the weather, and meteorologists use satellite images to forecast it. If it is about to rain, the farmer might not need to irrigate.
The images from satellites are also used in warfare for reconnaissance and surveillance. Keeping track of what your opponent is doing was an extremely important technological advancement. Satellites can track troops, equipment, and bases which helps in war planning. A country that has access to satellite images of their opponent is at a huge advantage. Satellites are also capable of tracking and guiding missiles.
The images from the satellites are only one thing they are capable of. Satellites can keep track of people and locations. One of the biggest trends right now is using the global positioning system (GPS) which is installed in many cars. GPS helps you navigate roads by using satellites to track your position. GPS is also installed in many planes and boats, not just for navigation purposes, but to track you in case your plane crashes or boat sinks. Satellites are also useful for surveying land and determining boundaries.
Surprisingly, it has only been recently that many satellite images were available for non-government use like mapping. Without the availability of satellite images to companies like Google and Yahoo, you might never know what an aerial view of your house looks like. Tools like Google Earth, Google Maps, and Yahoo! maps allow you to access publically release satellite images. Most of these tools are free and provide decent quality satellite images, and the more expensive tools will provide higher quality and higher resolution images. These programs and websites allow you to visit any city or country from a satellite image and can be a lot of fun. In all likelihood, you will never visit North Korea, so you might want to visit it from space to see what they’re up to.