Actual satellite maps. Satellite map of Russia. Additional options in the Menu item

Service "Google Maps" (Google Maps) Is one of the most powerful mapping services in the world. Its capabilities allow you to enjoy satellite images of the surface of our planet. You can also use the capabilities of the interactive map, easily plot a convenient route from point A to point B, get up-to-date information about traffic jams and much more. At the same time, not all users are fully familiar with the capabilities of this service, which in a certain way prevents its full use. This material is intended to eliminate such "blind spots", in it I will talk about Google maps that are available online in real time and of excellent quality, and explain in detail how to use their capabilities.

We study the functionality of the online service "Google Maps"

"Google Maps" Is a web service that provides detailed visual information about geographic regions and locations around the world. In addition to displaying a conventional road map, the service also offers aerial and satellite imagery of various locations, as well as imagery taken with a variety of vehicles.


This is how the start screen of the Google Maps service looks like.

Google Map includes several popular services:

  • The route planner offers the creation of routes for drivers and pedestrians who want to get from point A to point B;
  • The Google Maps API makes it possible to insert maps from Google Maps to various sites;
  • Google Street View (Google Street View) allows users to view the streets of various cities in the world, virtually navigating through them;
  • Google Maps for mobile platforms offers the use of GPS navigation of mobile devices to position the user on the map;
  • Ancillary services offer images of the Moon, Mars, clouds, etc. for astronomers and amateurs.

To start working with Google maps in full screen, start the service google.ru/maps... A schematic map of the world will open in front of you (depending on the user's location, usually a map of Europe).

Instructions for using the map from Google

The Google Maps service interface looks like this:


Additional options in the Menu item

Also in the Google Maps menu bar, which opens by clicking the menu button on the top left, the following useful options are presented:

  • « Satellite»- switches to the photographic map display mode, created using satellite photos. Pressing this option again switches the map back to schematic mode;
  • « Traffic jams»- shows current traffic jams in large cities. Color gradation from green to red shows the speed of traffic in the specified traffic jams;
  • « Transport»- allows you to display a schematic diagram of the movement of public transport in the right place;
  • « Relief"- will allow to display the relief of a given area
  • « Geodata transfer"- allows people to track each other's whereabouts using Google Maps;
  • « My places"- allows you to navigate between the places you added in the Google Maps service;
  • « Your impressions"- will allow you to add any textual impression about any of the places on the map (as well as attach a photo of this place).

Activating the satellite view of Google Maps

Displaying Google Maps using satellite photos is one of the most popular forms of working with Google Maps. It allows you to enjoy the view of the desired geographical place, created using satellite images, as well as images from special devices operating at a bird's-eye flight (from 240 to 460 meters).

The received photographs are regularly updated (their age is no more than 3 years). They enable each user to enjoy the view of the desired places from the satellite, visually lay the most convenient road from one place to another, and so on.


Google Earth - lets you enjoy high-resolution imagery

Among the capabilities of the Google Maps service is the Google Earth service. In addition to the technology of the already well-known satellite mapping of the earth's surface, "Google Earth" allows you to view 3D images of many colorful places, while the photos of some famous tourist sites have the highest resolution.

A feature of this service is also two, in our opinion, the main functions:


Conclusion

Service "Google Maps" (Google Maps) allows you to view satellite maps in real time for free, and use various forms of navigation to plot a user-friendly route. At the same time, competitors of Google Maps - "Yandex.Maps", "Bing Maps", "Apple Maps" and other analogs are generally inferior to maps from Google both in coverage area and in general functionality. Therefore, we recommend using Google maps to search and visually view the geographic object you need.

The satellite map of the world allows you to quickly move around the planet between any settlements. Detailed map of the world from satellite in Russian:


Explore the schematic map or switch to the world map from the satellite in the lower left corner of the map. Schematic map of the world Is a plan of the countries of the world and cities with street names and house numbers in Russian. The schematic map of the world shows sights and tourist attractions, the location of train stations, shops, restaurants and shopping centers, a map of the city's highways. Satellite map of the world will allow you to view satellite photos of the city thanks to images from the Google Maps service.

You can zoom in on the online map by scaling it to streets and house numbers. To change the scale, use the “+” (zoom in) and “-” (zoom out) icons located in the lower right corner of the map. You can also zoom in or out on the map using the mouse wheel. The left mouse button zooms in on the map, the right mouse button zooms out. With the mouse, you can move the interactive map in all directions by grasping any place on the map with the left mouse button.

Interactive world map online is a very convenient and modern guide for exploring the city, its districts and attractions, hotels, places of rest and entertainment. An online map of the world can not become an indispensable assistant for you in an independent journey. The interactive map is provided by Google Maps.

How satellite maps of the world are created:

The satellite, passing over the planet, scans the earth's surface and maps are compiled with the help of software. More recently, several years ago, satellite maps showed the planet's surface from a height of several kilometers. Now technologies allow making satellite maps from a height of several meters, and in the near future technologies will make it possible to create satellite maps with a detail of up to 30 centimeters.

What to see on the satellite map of the world:

First of all, people look for their country, their hometown, street and house in which they live on the map. To do this, you can zoom in on a schematic map of the world to your city, and then turn on the "Satellite" mode in the lower left corner of the map. In the same way, you can travel to all countries of the world online, exploring the sights of countries and cities in real time. Popular places that are often searched for on a satellite map: Reichstag in Berlin (Germany), Athenian Acropolis in Greece, Egyptian pyramids, Italy - Colosseum in Rome (Ancient Roman gladiatorial arena, Peterhof in Russia (west of St. Petersburg), Statue of Liberty in the USA - the symbol of America, the Eiffel Tower in Paris (France), the Great Wall of China.

Russia or the Russian Federation is a unique country that combines European and Asian features. The map of Russia is striking: the country occupies a huge territory of 17 million km 2 and is located simultaneously on the territory of North Asia and Eastern Europe.

143 million people live on the territory of Russia. The Russian Federation is a kind of "melting pot of nations": representatives of more than 200 nationalities live here. The country is a federal republic with a presidential form of government. The country's territory is divided into 46 regions, 9 territories, 21 republics, 4 autonomous regions, one autonomous region and 2 cities of federal significance. It is noteworthy that the Kaliningrad region is located on the territory of the European Union and has no borders with the Russian Federation.

Today Russia is one of the dynamically developing states that govern world politics. The Russian Federation is a member of numerous world political organizations such as the UN and the G8. Despite the relative stability and significant development of the country since the fall of the Soviet regime, the Russian economy is largely dependent on energy resources, in particular on oil and gas prices.

The capital of Russia is Moscow - one of the most expensive and beautiful cities in the world.

Historical reference

The Russian Federation is the successor to several states. The country traces its history back to 862, when Kievan Rus was formed. In the 12th century, numerous Russian principalities were located on the territory of Russia, which in the 15th century merged into the Russian state. In 1721, Tsar Peter I created the Russian Empire. In 1917, the revolutionary movement of socialism overthrew the monarchist regime and formed first the Russian Republic, then the RSFSR, and in 1922 the USSR.

During the Soviet regime, the country was separated from other countries of the world by the "Iron Curtain", some of the consequences of which have not yet been eliminated. In 1991 the USSR collapsed and the Russian Federation appeared.

Must Visit

Russia is a country with many cultural, historical and natural monuments. It is recommended to visit the business and cultural centers of the country - Moscow and St. Petersburg, Lake Baikal, the cities of the "Golden" and "Silver" rings, Orthodox monasteries and temples, the Caucasian reserve, the volcanoes of Kamchatka and much more.

Interactive map of Russia- a modern and convenient way to find the desired map of any region or city. This map allows you to view cities in both satellite mode and schematic map mode. You can watch from a satellite with the ability to zoom in any city and switch between different providers and types of maps. Additional services are available - photos of clouds in real time, traffic jams (only for large cities), photos of the area, a weather layer displaying the current weather for each locality, and a short forecast for the next 4 days.

For most objects on the map of Russia - Google Maps satellite photos are considered the best in quality

The quality of satellite photography often depends on the region, as satellite images need to be constantly updated. Therefore, different providers may have different photo quality for a particular city or region. However, the best quality photos in most cases come from Google Maps. Photos of Yandex maps are often inferior in quality, but they can be newer, so you can do with Yandex for new buildings. OVI maps - surprisingly, in some cases, it has better photos than even in Google Maps,

Open street maps

OSM is a phenomenon of the modern computer society, because the map is made by ordinary people (volunteers, volunteers), (unlike the 2gis map and others). But despite this, OSM is considered the most accurate and detailed map not only for Russia, but for the whole world. Even such giants as Yandex or Google cannot make maps as accurately and efficiently as the community of passionate amateur cartographers does. New buildings (namely, by them it is easy to determine the relevance and "freshness" of the map) are almost always present on OSM (and even the foundations of new buildings), while in Google and Yandex they may be present alternately, or not at all. In addition, Open Street Maps is probably the only map that displays paths in parks and forests and many other additional objects that are usually not available on other services.

Russia - physical map one file showing the largest cities, major ridges and plains. The map is very clear and easy to understand, although not detailed enough.

Physical map - option 2

They allow obtaining spatial information about the earth's surface in the visible and infrared ranges of electromagnetic wavelengths. They are capable of detecting passive reflected radiation from the earth's surface in the visible and near infrared ranges. In such systems, the radiation hits the appropriate sensors that generate electrical signals depending on the intensity of the radiation.

In optoelectronic remote sensing systems, as a rule, sensors with continuous line-by-line scanning are used. Can be distinguished linear, transverse and longitudinal scanning.

The total scan angle across the route is called the angle of view, and the corresponding value on the surface of the Earth is bandwidth.

Part of the data stream received from the satellite is called a scene. The schemes for cutting the stream into scenes, as well as their size for different satellites, differ.

Optoelectronic ERS systems carry out surveys in the optical range of electromagnetic waves.

Panchromatic the images occupy almost the entire visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum (0.45-0.90 microns), therefore they are black and white.

Multispectral(multispectral) imaging systems generate multiple individual images for broad spectral areas ranging from visible to infrared electromagnetic radiation. Currently, multispectral data from new-generation spacecraft, including RapidEye (5 spectral zones) and WorldView-2 (8 zones), are of the greatest practical interest.

New generation satellites of high and ultra-high resolution, as a rule, survey in panchromatic and multispectral modes.

Hyperspectral imaging systems form images simultaneously for narrow spectral zones in all parts of the spectral range. For hyperspectral imaging, it is not the number of spectral zones (channels) that is important, but the width of the zone (the smaller, the better) and the sequence of measurements. So, a survey system with 20 channels will be hyperspectral if it covers the range of 0.50-070 microns, while the width of each spectral zone is no more than 0.01 microns, and a survey system with 20 separate channels covering the visible region of the spectrum , near, shortwave, mid and far infrared regions, will be considered multispectral.

Spatial resolution- a value that characterizes the size of the smallest objects distinguishable in the image. The factors affecting the spatial resolution are the parameters of the optoelectronic or radar system, as well as the orbital altitude, that is, the distance from the satellite to the object being surveyed. The best spatial resolution is obtained when shooting in nadir, while deviating from nadir the resolution deteriorates. Space images can be of low (over 10 m), medium (10 to 2.5 m), high (2.5 to 1 m), and ultra-high (less than 1 m) resolution.

Radiometric resolution is determined by the sensitivity of the sensor to changes in the intensity of electromagnetic radiation. It is determined by the number of gradations of color values ​​corresponding to the transition from the brightness of absolutely "black" to absolutely "white", and is expressed in the number of bits per pixel in the image. This means that in the case of a radiometric resolution of 6 bits / pixel, we have only 64 color gradations, 8 bits / pixel - 256 gradations, 11 bits / pixel - 2048 gradations.

Navigation maps can be useful in a variety of situations. Either you are lost in the forest, or you are looking for the necessary street in the city. A service that can help you deal with this is Google Maps. It consists of a couple of applications. Namely: from the site Google Maps and Google Transit (program for plotting the route). Thanks to the fact that Google transmits data directly from the satellite, with the help of these maps you can find out a detailed route map, house numbers, street names, as well as how you can walk or travel (by car, bus, bicycle) to your destination.
This service is a great reference, covering many areas of life, from traveling to planning a walk or going on vacation.

Appearance

The map for users can be displayed in two ways:
  • traditionally (topographic map, analogue of Mercator);
  • satellite images (not online, but taken some time ago).
According to the Mercator projection, the scale of the maps was created, which is constant: towards the equator from the poles, it decreases and vice versa.
A related project to Google Maps - Google Planet (corresponds to the globe) complements the service of images of the Earth's poles.

Peculiarities

Not all countries disclose the location of their properties. Therefore, places on the map where there are classified areas shaded... These include, for example, the White House, the Capitol.

Different land plots have different resolutions on the map. The lower the population density of a territory, the less details are known about it. Some places on the map are hidden under the clouds. Although not all objects were captured by satellite. Images of some of them were obtained thanks to aerial photography from an altitude of 300 meters or more. In such places, terrain detail reaches high values.

Service interface

Google Maps is very easy to manage. This app was made for people and that's how it works. On the left side there is a button for switching the appearance of cards ( topographic or satellite view). And on the right side of the screen, the user can find the zoom buttons ( increase and decrease).
The system allows its users to enter the address or name of an object and receive information about its location, address, coordinates, and appearance. For some zones, the “what's there” recognition service is available, while Google Maps will show which object (gas station, museum, store, theater) is located there.

Google online maps very widely use javascript service. New areas of the map are displayed on the page when the user moves it around the screen. If the address of a specific object was entered, the page is reloaded and the location of the desired location is displayed on the map with a dynamic red marker icon.

So that the map could be hosted by the owners of other sites, Google announced a free service: API Maps(Application Programming Interface) in 2005. This map can be added to any area of ​​the site. There are currently more than 350 thousand of them around the world.

About Google Maps

As of 2011, Google announced that it provides its mapping service to more than 150 million customers. This makes the service one of the largest and most ambitious Internet navigation services.
Interactive Google Maps is a free service courtesy of Google Corporation that does not contain ads, but only provides quality and verified information about the location and purpose of objects around the world.