# Looking for a map program with recent-ish satellite views **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 9, 2023, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-map-program-with-recent-ish-satellite-views/977905 "2023-01-09T05:26:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2023, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-map-program-with-recent-ish-satellite-views/977905/1 "2023-01-09T05:26:31Z")
I’ve checked the satellite views on Apple maps, google maps, and google earth and none of the satellite views are anywhere near recent. Is there a map provider with recent satellite maps (within 6 months, say)? Or am I doing something wrong and can I get recent satellite views on one of the above programs? Thanks, J. ---
**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:** [January 9, 2023, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-map-program-with-recent-ish-satellite-views/977905/2 "2023-01-09T05:32:46Z")
Those aren’t satellite views, they’re aerial photos. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2023, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-map-program-with-recent-ish-satellite-views/977905/3 "2023-01-09T12:12:50Z")
There may not be more recent aerial photos available to the public. Unlike what you see in TV shows, not every square inch of the world is photographed every day. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2023, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-map-program-with-recent-ish-satellite-views/977905/4 "2023-01-09T15:39:47Z")
Actually, most of what you see on GoogleMaps, etc, IS satellite imagery these days. To the OP – try this: [https://earthnow.usgs.gov/observer/](https://earthnow.usgs.gov/observer/) ---
**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:** [January 9, 2023, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-map-program-with-recent-ish-satellite-views/977905/5 "2023-01-09T16:33:27Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Actually, most of what you see on GoogleMaps, etc, IS satellite imagery these days. - I always thought the closer views were aerial photos due to the infrequent updates. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2023, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-map-program-with-recent-ish-satellite-views/977905/6 "2023-01-09T23:53:34Z")
What I’ve been told is this (grain of salt, please) - The photos on Google or other sources are there because they’ve been “provided” to the secondary market. Someone needed an aerial photo of an area, and paid for it. The photographer then took that photo and sold it to Google, which updated their maps. If you’re in an area that has no market for aerial photos, they don’t get updated. I.e. Google Maps of New York will have a month-or-two date on them, Google Maps of Buttonhollow, Arkansas (population 4), will have years-old photos because nobody cares. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2023, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-map-program-with-recent-ish-satellite-views/977905/7 "2023-01-10T00:01:06Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > Actually, most of what you see on GoogleMaps, etc, IS satellite imagery these days. > > To the OP – try this: > [FarEarth Observer - USGS](https://earthnow.usgs.gov/observer/) Thanks for the link, but it’s not exactly what I’m looking for. Maybe I don’t know how to use it, but I was looking for a site where I type in an address and get shown the view. This site just seems to play real time or recorded satellite swaths. Thanks, J. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2023, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-map-program-with-recent-ish-satellite-views/977905/8 "2023-01-10T01:35:27Z")
The different map websites sometimes contract out their aerial imagery to different providers, so it’s worth trying a few and seeing if any of them have more recent photos. Free providers: - Here: [HERE WeGo](https://wego.here.com/?x=ep&map=44.0915,-121.4073,10,satellite) - Bing: [Bing Maps - Directions, trip planning, traffic cameras & more](https://www.bing.com/maps) - ESRI: [Map Viewer](https://www.arcgis.com/apps/mapviewer/index.html?layers=10df2279f9684e4a9f6a7f08febac2a9) - OpenAerialMap: [OpenAerialMap Browser](https://map.openaerialmap.org/#/-41.1328125,28.76765910569123,3?_k=axt1i2) - Check your local city / county state for some sort of “GIS data portal” or “aerial imagery” or “orthoimagery”; these are usually paid for by the local government and available for free on their website (or at the city hall, if you’d rather get a human to help you) but it takes a bit more effort than using Google Maps or whatever. Paid services that can have more recent images, but you have to pay: - EagleView: [Place an Order – EagleView Technologies](https://my.eagleview.com/Order.aspx) - NearMap: [High Quality Aerial Imagery Maps & Geospatial Data | Nearmap US](https://www.nearmap.com/us/en#get-a-quote) - Hexagon: [Aerial Imagery | Hexagon](https://hexagon.com/products/aerial-imagery) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2023, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-map-program-with-recent-ish-satellite-views/977905/9 "2023-01-10T01:46:12Z")
> [@Noelq](#): > > market. Google Maps started out as Keyhole. > **[Google buys satellite image firm Keyhole](https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/google-buys-satellite-image-firm-keyhole/)** > > The search giant has already slashed the price of Keyhole's flagship product, which lets viewers see photos of locations around the globe. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2023, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-map-program-with-recent-ish-satellite-views/977905/10 "2023-01-11T00:32:11Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > - Check your local city / county state for some sort of “GIS data portal” or “aerial imagery” or “orthoimagery”; these are usually paid for by the local government and available for free on their website (or at the city hall, if you’d rather get a human to help you) but it takes a bit more effort than using Google Maps or whatever. This is an excellent suggestion. A great many counties are now including a set of GIS pages that often have local photographs, both aerial and street view. A few, like the odd folks of Oakland County, MI originally made you pay for access and specify what you want to look at, but the majority provide free access, usually related to the county assessor’s office. (Oakland may have changed their policies–I have not checked, recently.) To get started, just go to Google or Bing and enter “[county name] GIS”. (For frequently used names, you may need to include the state.) ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2023, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-map-program-with-recent-ish-satellite-views/977905/11 "2023-01-11T13:21:40Z")
I use GaiaGPS software for my hiking. It includes a phone app and a web site, shows tracks and lets you create routes and waypoints, and has multiple backgrounds available, such as USGS maps of various ages, aerial or satellite photos, and a street map that helps one get to the hiking area in the first place. One of the available layers is “FreshSat Recent”, which are “satellite” (possibly aerial) photographs from as recent as they can make them. I live in a rural area, not very close to any significant cities, and I just looked. The view that includes my house is dated 2022-12-01. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2023, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-map-program-with-recent-ish-satellite-views/977905/12 "2023-01-11T22:04:04Z")
Thanks for that tip! Gaia [says they combine imagery from the Sentinel 2 and Landsat 8 satellites](https://blog.gaiagps.com/view-recent-conditions-with-fresh-sat-maps/). You can view (paid I think) some of those same images here, without the app: [EOS LandViewer](https://eos.com/landviewer/)