Satellites aren’t for specialists (anymore).
By: Darren Smith
Tags: Planet, Soar, Satellite, Observation, Earth

-and here’s a collection of Soar’s SkyMap50 images over Europe to prove it-

Until recently, satellite imagery* was the domain of specialists and the platforms for accessing the data relied on their experience. With the proliferation of satellite companies and lowering costs, the market has expanded to a greater diversity of customers.

For example, a news journalist’s chief objective is to create interesting and appealing articles. It’s often the intriguing and context-supportive satellite images which retain the reader’s attention for the duration of the article. Keeping readers ‘eyes on the page’ is important as they’ll return later for more high-value content, something advertisers like to hear. A ready source for these images is essential.

St Prex on Lake Leman, Switzerland. Seemingly out of place amidst farmlands, a small group of homes is nestled securely between farmlands.

A user-driven and game-changing satellite imagery ordering interface has been developed by Soar to support imagery demands for a variety of users;

Private landowners (such as farmers)

Land agents marketing rural land

Independent consultants (ecologists, geologists, & other field scientists)

Zurich, Switzerland. Pre-medieval road networks and promenades have been built around Lake Zurich and the Limmat River.

With just a credit card and a bit of browsing time, anyone can source (in as little as 24 hours) high resolution satellite images for once-off single purchases. Imagery is either available as on-file & pre-captured historical images or as on-demand (you pick the date for future image collection).

Ninove, Belgium. Ninove presents a haphazard network of extended farm plots and industrial areas

It’s time for self-service. With catastrophic fires threatening many in California, news services are optimising their efforts towards chronicling the immediate threats to human life. Which means coverage either serves for evacuation notification or for dramatic scenes of hope such as emergency services saving lives, firefighters salvaging homes and the like. Often cataloging the post-mortem (i.e. what homes have been damaged) gets overlooked by emerging threats. But, citizens want and need to know, who is safe and what has been damaged. With Soar, you can filter through historical coverage to see what the events on location were for a given day, or as a way to be the first to know by pre-ordering satellite images over any location.

The Beautiful Red Roofs of Pavia Italy. Centered about the majestic Doumo di Pavia cathedral, Pavia streets display well defined gridwork symmetry and an abundance of red roofs

Many wouldn’t know where to start when looking for up-to-date satellite images. As well, users might be unsure of the product offering. On entry to Soar, users are rovided with a map browsing interface offering examples of Soar’s SkyMap50 imagery and maps generated by users worldwide. Previewing the satellite images in-context on the map is the ‘test-drive’ for interested users who would like to know what the final product looks like.

Costronovo, Scicily. Sitting at 1000m elevation, Costronovo is a community of 3,053 inhabitants

On Soar, the Satellites tab (see below) offers a variety of on-demand satellite images. If you’re still unsure about how satellite images can help you as a land agent/owner, farmer, or other, have a play with sourcing the free satellite imagery from either Sentinel-2 or Landsat satellites. Here’s a no-cost playground where users can browse to a location and source historical and newly acquired images, all of which are delivered in the same format (georeferenced & un-compressed) as Soar’s premium SkyMap50 satellite images.

The resolution of Soar’s SkyMap50 satellite imagery is orders of magnitue higher than either of Soar’s free offerings (Sentinel/Landsat) and ultimately serves anyone who needs high resolution images, quickly (24–48hrs delivery), and without hassle (no subscriptions required).

Soar’s geospatial data distribution platform. Users can begin browsing satellite data on Soar by selecting the Satellites tab (upper left) and choosing either order SkyMap50 (50cm resolution images), Sentinel (10m resoltuion images) or Landsat (30m resolution images)