See the Sights from Satellites
April 7, 2005 10:57 PM   Subscribe

Google Sight-Seeing Being seen from space isn't just for the Great Wall of China anymore. See Las Vegas, Area 51 and some impressive graffiti. (via)
posted by frecklefaerie (46 comments total)
 
google maps from above and below :D

cheers!
posted by kliuless at 11:05 PM on April 7, 2005


Cool.
posted by rooftop secrets at 11:05 PM on April 7, 2005


Crater Lake

Grand Canyon

a boat skimming along Lake Tahoe's surface

Moab

Pentagon

Fenway Park

Logan Airport

CFB Petawawa

entry to NORAD under Cheyenne Mountain

White Sands AFB

Black Rock City (Burning Man)

Fermilab

Death Valley

Niagara Falls

Kauai

Trinity test site

B-52s waiting to launch at Minot, ND AFB

Aircraft carriers in Norfolk, VA

Giant Compass Rose at Edwards AFB

Air Force boneyard near Tucson, AZ

Air Force One's hangar at Andrews AFB

CIA headquarters

Launch Pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center

Mickey Mouse crop circle
posted by Mean Mr. Bucket at 11:26 PM on April 7, 2005


Hollywood sign.
(very small, just north of the bubble, zoom in).
posted by Boydrop at 11:32 PM on April 7, 2005


Double, of sorts. All very pretty and such but this post is still open and on the front page. Could have been added in-thread.
posted by peacay at 12:11 AM on April 8, 2005


This, my friends, is conclusive evidence to suggest that Google is becoming Skynet for all values of "sky", "net" and "Skynet".
posted by the cydonian at 12:23 AM on April 8, 2005


My mom looked up her house on the google maps, saw an unusual black speck in the yard. Turns out it was the dog. (He's an 80 pound mutt)
posted by idiotfactory at 12:26 AM on April 8, 2005


That site is great.
posted by sjvilla79 at 1:12 AM on April 8, 2005


More Land Grafiti, about twice the size as the "Dave" one in this post.
posted by afx114 at 1:28 AM on April 8, 2005


Picture this
posted by garethspor at 1:54 AM on April 8, 2005


I love these satellite photos. Viewing relatively small objects such as the house I grew up in is kinda boring. What structures are big enough to really enjoy? Stadiums and Ballparks! I checked out almost all the 30 Major League Baseball parks, and some football stadiums as well. Of all the sporting venues I found, only 3Com Park, aka Candlestick Park in San Francisco had a game (49ers) in progress. Angel Stadium in Anaheim appears to be hosting a motocross rally? Of course, we can't see what's happening inside the domed stadiums, but the empty parking lots suggest a lack of activity inside. Here's the rest:

posted by serafinapekkala at 6:36 AM on April 8, 2005


A big swath of Minneapolis is blurred as well. I wonder how often the satellite photos will be updated?
posted by gimonca at 6:57 AM on April 8, 2005


Here's the ring-shaped lake created by a meteor strike in Labrador, Canada.
posted by growli at 8:07 AM on April 8, 2005


I'm a bit surprised they haven't done these two yet: Gateway Arch and Statue of Liberty.
posted by brownpau at 8:11 AM on April 8, 2005


The longest parking lot in the world (Branson, MO)
posted by badger_flammable at 8:31 AM on April 8, 2005


The Goodyear Blimp, at its field in Carson, CA.
posted by Guy Smiley at 9:24 AM on April 8, 2005


does anyone else think the US government is pissed as all hell about this?
posted by stratastar at 10:37 AM on April 8, 2005


More aircraft carriers:
Jacksonville, FL
Everett, WA
San Diego, CA
San Diego, CA (helicopter carrier?)
Philadelphia, PA (decommisioned)
New York (museum)

Hospital ship: San Diego, CA

A Navy ammo storage area in suburban NJ. Including a very long pier they use to load the ships far away from shore.

(I think what makes this brilliant is that google makes it so easy to link to the images. The previous versions were always Java or Flash, so you couldn't share cool things you found.)
posted by smackfu at 10:39 AM on April 8, 2005


Google HQ
posted by [hifidigitalboy] at 10:40 AM on April 8, 2005


Holy crap, smackfu. Exactly how long is that thing?
posted by borkingchikapa at 11:06 AM on April 8, 2005


Maybe we should tell someone about this ...
posted by ElvisJesus at 11:18 AM on April 8, 2005


Holy crap, smackfu. Exactly how long is that thing?

I'd pay to have somebody say that to me ...
posted by ElvisJesus at 11:19 AM on April 8, 2005


Speaking of ring shaped lakes, I was just motoring, or I guess “satellite-ing” around the region the day they added the imagery, and I came across THIS eye-boggling natural expression of geography at Mt St Helens and Spirit Lake.

p.s. anyone else think Spirit Lake looks strangely like a lion?
posted by car_bomb at 11:40 AM on April 8, 2005


It looks like that pier is at least a mile and a half long, judging by lower Manhattan's width (at the top of this image)

I noticed, scrolling north, that for some reason, Massachusetts was meticulously photographed at a different, less-green time of year than the surrounding states:

They even got Southwick in winter, in stark contrast to Connecticut's greenery. Reminds me of this TNG episode.
posted by borborygmi at 11:41 AM on April 8, 2005


smackfu: The ship you listed as "helicopter carrier?" is the amphibious assault ship USS Peleliu - LHA 5 (which is, as you said, basically a helicopter carrier).
posted by NormieP at 12:03 PM on April 8, 2005


NormieP: Nice catch.

I stumbled across that pier while scrolling around NYC, and assumed it was for natural gas loading or something. But then I found this page, which has tons of info on what is actually Naval Weapons Station Earle. The pier is 2.2 miles long. It looks much cooler with ships tied up. And you can follow the train tracks all the way from the pier to the weapons bunkers (which look just like the ones in Iraq, incidentally).
posted by smackfu at 12:56 PM on April 8, 2005


So where are the nuke silos? I've been hunting around Cheyenne, WY with no luck. I guess they are too small.
posted by Mid at 1:00 PM on April 8, 2005


Howabout Devil's Tower, WY?
posted by Mid at 1:06 PM on April 8, 2005


I guess the birds don't get too nice a view of Mt. Rushmore.
posted by DakotaPaul at 1:25 PM on April 8, 2005


More weird shit in New Jersey. Although it's only weird when you realize how big those things are. The giant cleared circle (almost a mile across) is a parachute jump site. The not really parallel lines are jet car test tracks (!?!). There's some huge airship hangars around too. The military builds the greatest things.

How about a cloud and it's shadow?

Nuclear power plant, in FL (in a rather unusual place, if you zoom out)

Bermuda (surprisingly in full hi-resolution, and not even on the normal map)

Sing Sing Prison

This is just weird
posted by smackfu at 2:09 PM on April 8, 2005


car_bomb: that looks suspiciously like an image doctored up to look like ol goatse
posted by Iax at 2:53 PM on April 8, 2005


The Luecke family says "hello"
posted by puke & cry at 3:44 PM on April 8, 2005


Iax: it does? strange...I wonder how that got in there.
posted by car_bomb at 4:22 PM on April 8, 2005


car_bom I meant this
its not on google... and look at it! it also has a dog shaped lake in the upper right.
posted by Iax at 4:41 PM on April 8, 2005


actually iax, it's a lion.
posted by puke & cry at 4:47 PM on April 8, 2005


Smackfu: I think you found midway island.
posted by Mid at 8:31 PM on April 8, 2005


This is just weird

It's a dolphin's eyeball.
posted by rafter at 9:18 PM on April 8, 2005


Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
posted by rafter at 9:25 PM on April 8, 2005


Weighing in at 24 miles, the longest bridge in the world.
posted by rafter at 9:59 PM on April 8, 2005


Thought Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone looked pretty cool.
posted by bdragon at 10:06 PM on April 8, 2005


smackfu: Tern Island in the French Frigate Shoals?
posted by gubo at 10:07 PM on April 8, 2005


I think this is Kilauea, the world's most active volcano (lives up to its billing).
posted by borborygmi at 11:03 PM on April 8, 2005


Dealey Plaza
posted by gubo at 10:06 AM on April 9, 2005


What about the world's nastiest turnpikes/interchange? I imagine that'd have to be in LA.
posted by five fresh fish at 10:59 AM on April 9, 2005


actually guys, i'm pretty sure it's a LIGER.
posted by car_bomb at 5:29 PM on April 9, 2005


It's been years since I've visited, so I can't say whether these LA interchanges are particularly hellacious:

5, 22, & La Veta Ave
60 & 710
5 & 110
10 & 710

They just look confusing from above.

Closer to home, here's Boston's Zakim Bridge, from when it was still under construction. The Big Dig looks messy from space, too.
posted by borborygmi at 5:30 PM on April 9, 2005


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