# Googlemap "satellite" photos... who/what/how??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 18, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568 "2010-04-18T22:33:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/1 "2010-04-18T22:33:55Z")
I’ve jsut accepted it for so long, but now I’m really starting to be a little freaked out. I was just checking out the house where I grew up, looking for the stairs nearby, and zoomed to street level, which I’ve done on other occasions. But this was crazy…I could look in virtually every direction, up, down, left right… in astonishing closeup. I could see the veins int he leaves on the bushes, for god’s sake… it was almost like I was standing on the street, it was so thorough. And that house sits high on a hill in Silverlake, east of Hollywood. It is decidedly NOT a main avenue of any kind. So what’s the deal? Where are these pictures coming from? Why are they so complete? How often are they updated? Are they going to be photographing me inside my house next? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/2 "2010-04-18T23:07:16Z")
Are you talking about the overhead views, or the street view? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/3 "2010-04-18T23:09:47Z")
The overhead views are a combination of satellite and aerial photography. The street views were taken by a Google vehicle with multiple cameras. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/4 "2010-04-18T23:16:21Z")
Couldn’t this be answered by Googling for Google? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/5 "2010-04-18T23:17:09Z")
Are you suggesting that nobody is allowed to look in the direction of your house? I mean, I can stand outside it and look at it. I can look left, right, up, and down. Is your house not allowed to be seen by people? In that case, I might suggest researching a Perception Filter ™. Google doesn’t photograph anything that everyone else can’t photograph. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/6 "2010-04-18T23:27:26Z")
I’m not suggesting anything except that it’s remarkable, amazing, and slightly disturbing that this level of detail has been achieved. A google vehicle with multiple cameras? Really? Driving a little street in the Silverlake hills? Seriously? That seems incredibly costly for very little benefit. Is Google as detailed in Europe, Asia, Australia…? ---
**Author:** ![2gigch1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/2gigch1/32/3313_2.png) [@2gigch1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2gigch1)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/7 "2010-04-18T23:28:09Z")
[Click here & pan up for the Pliars of Doom!](http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Foxoak+St,+Cradley+Heath,+West+Midlands+B64,+United+Kingdom&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=13.283564,27.817383&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Foxoak+St,+Cradley+Heath,+West+Midlands+B64,+United+Kingdom&ll=52.470103,-2.08251&spn=0.003366,0.006791&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=52.470165,-2.082675&panoid=BI32I2U_eu0IucKblb4Tqg&cbp=12,306.41,,0,12.09) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/8 "2010-04-18T23:29:18Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > I’m not suggesting anything except that it’s remarkable, amazing, and slightly disturbing that this level of detail has been achieved. > > A google vehicle with multiple cameras? Really? Driving a little street in the Silverlake hills? Seriously? That seems incredibly costly for very little benefit. > > Is Google as detailed in Europe, Asia, Australia…? [![](http://dailyyeah.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/2584018127_c2701eaef8_o.jpg) ](http://dailyyeah.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/2584018127_c2701eaef8_o.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/9 "2010-04-18T23:32:12Z")
It was launched on my birthday. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/10 "2010-04-18T23:40:14Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > IA google vehicle with multiple cameras? Really? Driving a little street in the Silverlake hills? Seriously? That seems incredibly costly for very little benefit. The benefit is that they can claim that they have photos of every street. As for cost, once you’ve bought the car, the camera and the storage (which you need to photograph big cities), the only cost is salaries and gas (I assume the photos are digital). > [@](#): > > Is Google as detailed in Europe, Asia, Australia…? Depends on where you are. The major cities definitely have good coverage. Small towns do not – yet. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/11 "2010-04-18T23:48:01Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Is Google as detailed in Europe, Asia, Australia…? Yep, pretty much. There are areas that haven’t been covered yet but over time the gaps get filled. When I was buying a house last year I used Google street view to do virtual drive-bys. It let me disregard some houses without having to actually go out and have a look at them. The aerial photos were great too because I could check out how much of a yard the houses had and whether we’d be able to fit the kid’s trampoline somewhere. You might get a kick out of this YouTube video. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPgV6-gnQaE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPgV6-gnQaE) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/12 "2010-04-18T23:49:40Z")
> [@2gigch1](#): > > [Click here & pan up for the Pliars of Doom!](http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Foxoak+St,+Cradley+Heath,+West+Midlands+B64,+United+Kingdom&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=13.283564,27.817383&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Foxoak+St,+Cradley+Heath,+West+Midlands+B64,+United+Kingdom&ll=52.470103,-2.08251&spn=0.003366,0.006791&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=52.470165,-2.082675&panoid=BI32I2U_eu0IucKblb4Tqg&cbp=12,306.41,,0,12.09) What the heck are those??!! ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/13 "2010-04-18T23:50:34Z")
^^ It’s a pair of pliers. Lying on top of the camera, evidently. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/14 "2010-04-18T23:52:27Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > What the heck are those??!! Never mind, I googled it all by myself. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/15 "2010-04-18T23:53:39Z")
I did notice just the other day, though, that they don’t seem to have anything at all in the Republic of Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/16 "2010-04-19T00:03:33Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > I’m not suggesting anything except that it’s remarkable, amazing, and slightly disturbing that this level of detail has been achieved. Google has a [mechanism](http://maps.google.com/help/maps/streetview/privacy.html) to request that an image be removed, if someone believes that their privacy is at issue. But as others said, it’s really useful. I’ve used it when I was looking for a store I’d never been to before. And my parents used it to look at a house they’d been invited to visit to see if my father would be able to get from the driveway into the house with his walker. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/17 "2010-04-19T00:06:57Z")
Dude, you are _not_ supposed to be asking these questions… [The Googling](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPgV6-gnQaE) ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/18 "2010-04-19T00:16:09Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Are they going to be photographing me inside my house next? I don’t know, but if you go to spokeO and enter your real name they will show a list of address’ including a Google Earth picture of your house. Enter a friends name and see their house. Kind of disturbing. > **[Spokeo - People Search | White Pages | Reverse Phone Lookup](https://www.spokeo.com/)** > > People search engine and free white pages finds phone, address, email, and photos. Find people by name, email, address, and phone for free. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/19 "2010-04-19T00:23:05Z")
A lot of the information on SpokeO is wrong. They don’t have anything on my real name. They have a person with my old married name living with my exhusband in a house I never lived in. They did take 10 years off my age though. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2010, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568/20 "2010-04-19T00:27:11Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > I’ve jsut accepted it for so long, but now I’m really starting to be a little freaked out. I was just checking out the house where I grew up, looking for the stairs nearby, and zoomed to street level, which I’ve done on other occasions. But this was crazy…I could look in virtually every direction, up, down, left right… in astonishing closeup. I could see the veins int he leaves on the bushes, for god’s sake… it was almost like I was standing on the street, it was so thorough. > > And that house sits high on a hill in Silverlake, east of Hollywood. It is decidedly NOT a main avenue of any kind. > > So what’s the deal? Where are these pictures coming from? Why are they so complete? How often are they updated? Are they going to be photographing me inside my house next? Not until Googleshower comes out.😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/googlemap-satellite-photos-who-what-how/536568.md?page=2)