Imagery update: Explore your favorite places in Google Earth
By: Google Earth
Tags: 3d, Google Maps, Satellite Imagery, Google Earth, Satellite Technology

By Christiaan Adams, Developer Relations, Google Earth & Earth Outreach

You often ask us about the age of our 3D and satellite imagery, and how often the map is updated. The short answer is, we’re updating the imagery you see in Google Earth and Google Maps all the time — but starting today here on Medium, we’ll be sharing periodic highlights of what’s new.

New 3D: Paris, Amsterdam, London and New York City

This year alone, we’ve added new high-resolution 3D imagery for more than 100 cities and metro areas — that covers almost 46 million people! Start in the coastal capital city of Lisbon, Portugal. Then head over to the eastern half of Nassau, The Bahamas, with its beautiful beaches. And finally, explore the natural harbor of Nagasaki, Japan.

Our 3D updates often include refreshes to existing cities with better, sharper imagery. Four recent updates we’re particularly excited about: New York City, London, Paris and Amsterdam. Like all cities, these four are constantly changing, so you can imagine keeping our 3D up to date in dynamic places like these can be tricky! Be sure to check out downtown Manhattan, where a lot of new construction is now reflected in the imagery:

New satellite imagery: PyeongChang, Mecca and Bangkok

Since the new year, we’ve added enough satellite imagery to cover more than 888 million people across the planet. We often plan those updates around major world events, including last month’s Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. Keep an eye out for more imagery updates in June when the World Cup kicks off in Russia.

Satellites capture images at different resolutions. Landsat, for example, images huge areas at a relatively low resolution of 30 meters — great for viewing large areas like the Amazon. Recently, we’ve been adding very high-resolution 30-centimeter images, captured by our friends at DigitalGlobe. Check it out now in places like Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, just in time for Ramadan.

Behind the scenes

With Google Earth, we’re aiming to build the most photorealistic, digital version of our planet. We’re often asked how we do it. Where do the images come from? And how do you take those images and build that seamless globe? Here’s a helpful video we released last year, digging into the pixels and people that create Google Earth:

More highlights

Recently updated 3D imagery

Austria: Dornbirn, Klagenfurt; Bucharest, Romania

Canada: Moncton, Saint John, Sault Ste. Marie

France: Annecy, Bordeaux, Frejus, Monaco Ville, Valence

Germany: Berlin, Essen, Rosenheim, Stuttgart, Wilhelms

Greece: Heraklion

Italy: Bassano Del Grappa, Caserta, Cesena, Cosenza, Imola, Lecco, Messina, Ravenna, Reggio di Calabria, Reggio nell’Emilia, Savona, Udine

Japan: Asahikawa, Fuji, Fukuyama, Hakodate, Hanamaki, Kirishima, Miyazu, Natori, Ueda, Yamaguchi

Lisbon, Portugal

Nassau, The Bahamas

Netherlands: Almere, Amersfoort, Arnhem, Breda, Hengelo, Leeuwarden, Maastricht, Middelburg, Tilburg, Utrecht, Venlo

Pilsen, Czech Republic

Poland: Bydgoszcz, Częstochowa, Kalisz, Koszalin, Krakow, Lodz, Malbork, Rzeszów, Szczecin, Wroclaw, Zielona Góra

San Juan, Argentina

San Marino, San Marino

Spain: Avila, Cordoba, Lleida, Ourense, Santiago de Compostela, Toledo

Sweden: Lund, Stockholm, Uppsala, Västerås

Tunis, Tunisia

United Kingdom: Belfast, Bristol, Cambridge, Coventry, Glasgow, Manchester, Oxford, Southend-on-Sea, Stonehenge

USA: Ames, Bel Air, Corpus Christi, Elgin, Fenwick Island, Green Bay, Iowa City, Joliet, Monroe, Richland, Sandusky, Saratoga Springs, Williamsburg, Wisconsin Dells, York

Zurich, Switzerland

Recently updated Satellite imagery