The Function And Efficiency Of Satellite Mapping
If you, like most other people, have been tracking the expense of your government, you would have noticed that apart from defense, the single largest proportion of the national budget goes into space exploration. Governments all over the world are wont to spent billions of dollars each year in sending satellites into space to collect information ranging from critical intelligence, through weather reports to even seemingly mundane images like satellite maps. Before we get into the nitty gritty of what satellite maps really are, we need to understand how a satellite really works. In very simple terms, a satellite is any body or object that revolves around a planet or other heavenly body in a circular or elliptical path. By this definition, the moon is earth's original satellite. But as we have seen, most governments with the money and the wherewithal have launched their own man made satellites into space. Because of the benefits that such man made satellites have given us, a satellite nowadays refers almost exclusively to such devices placed in space with the express purpose of gathering data or collecting information. And one of the best examples of such useful information collected by satellites, is satellite maps. Satellite maps are tremendously useful to a wide range of users. The weather report they provide helps meteorological departments provide advance storm and calamity warnings. The environmental information they provide helps environmental agencies pinpoint trouble spots and get into action. The intelligence information of satellite maps has often been relied on to provide life saving information for warfare purposes. And the general information they provide have helped prospectors identify sources of natural deposits to create mining and allied industries. Probably the widest used example of a satellite maps generator is Google Earth - the real time satellite map imaging software developed by Internet Company Google. I came across this innovative product during a web search and have been using it ever since to generate my own, personal satellite maps. No longer do I need to dream about how various parts of the globe look when seen from space. Whether it is the Grand Canyon in Colorado, or the Vatican from above or even Red Square in the heart of Russia, all I need to do to view it is to type the name and viola! The satellite map is presented to me in vivid detail. Some innovative users have already begun using these satellite maps to advertise their products and services and Google Earth is all set to become the best known example of collaborative satellite map technology in the world. Companies like Space imaging (www.spaceimaging.com) have made it their full time business to receive satellite map information and analyze and report the results to a wide range of industry segments. In addition to providing critical information to governments and industries, they also use the satellite maps to generate aerial posters of popular earth landmarks. These are sold to collectors, the concerned and even the plain and simple curious. As for me - I'll use my trusted Google Earth to generate my own, personal satellite maps. Maybe I too can become a satellite map services provider someday! |
