I am looking for satellite images of the US with a high resolution. I would like the images to be the same resolution as Google maps when all the way zoomed in. Is there open satellite images like this? I do NOT need any additional information in the image like highways or altitudes.
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3Note that the closest zoom imagery on Google is probably aerial photography from planes, not satellite.– Andrew is goneSep 11, 2016 at 9:17
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Do you have any specific satellite you are looking for ? There are many different types of satellite out there. ?– PROBERTSep 13, 2016 at 18:46
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I don't have a specific satellite but ones that cover the state of Florida or Georgia in the US is what I am hoping to test my hypothesis on. I also don't know very much about satellites.– user18101Sep 13, 2016 at 18:48
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What is preventing you from using Google Maps at the zoom you desire? (So we better understand your technical requirement)– PraxitelesSep 13, 2016 at 20:20
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1, I am pretty sure its illegal. 2, I want to turn the images into let's say 100 meter x 100 meter blocks then use computer vision to find things in the images. I guess you could scrap all the images from Google maps but I think they would stop your bot and it seems like a lot of work– user18101Sep 13, 2016 at 20:24
1 Answer
Google Earth uses a variety of platforms for image acquisition. At the highest zoom levels, these are mostly aerial images, captured from planes not satellites. As you mentioned in a comment above, you cannot legally access or scrape these files. Google contracted much of the aerial photography, and therefore retains the rights to them.
There are other sources of aerial imagery available in the US, however. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has a large collection of aerial imagery, some of which is free. You can see more about these collections at this EROS page. You will need a login to their Earth Explorer system to access and download datasets. The "High Resolution Orthoimagery" may be what you are looking for. Batch downloads of large regions aren't the easiest, but it is certainly possible.