Skip to main content

Google Earth just got a whole lot sharper thanks to the Landsat 8 satellite

Google Earth is an awesome tool for exploring the world from above, and while its novelty has somewhat worn off since its 2001 launch, there are still plenty of reasons you might want to use Earth.

And when you do find yourself using Earth, you’ll soon get much sharper and more detailed images, thanks both to Landsat 8, a new satellite with better cameras, and to a new image-processing technology. The new imagery will also roll out to the satellite layer on Google Maps.

The Landsat 8 satellite was launched in 2013, and captures images with far better detail and color. In fact, thanks to the satellite, Google will be able to take around two times as many images as it did with Landsat 7, ensuring that imagery on Earth is always up to date.

“Satellite images are often cloudy, but not always over the same place, so we looked at millions of images and took the clearest pixels to stitch together this cloud-free and seamless image,” said Google in a related blog post.

Google used the publicly available Earth Engine API to go through around a petabyte of Landsat images to find only cloud-free images. It then used other image-processing techniques to get the sharpest images that it possibly could, resulting in what Google says is the “freshest global mosaic to date.” But just how much better is it? See for yourself in the comparison below.

Not all images have been captured using the Landsat 8 satellite just yet, but as newer images become available, over time, they will replace the older ones. It’s a good thing that Google doesn’t rely on one set of images — in 2003 the Landsat 7 satellite suffered a hardware malfunction that compromised many of the images. Because of that, Google’s parent, Alphabet, is actually looking at building its own satellites with its Terra Bella subsidiary.

If you are a Google Earth user and want to get the most out of it, check out our guide on how to get Google Earth Pro for free.

Editors' Recommendations

Christian de Looper
Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…
Google’s new wallpaper-friendly satellite images are simply stunning
Aerial view of Yellowstone National Park

The world sure is a gorgeous-looking place when viewed from on high, so it’s no surprise that some people like to create wallpapers for their devices using captures from Google Earth.

The practice prompted Google to create Earth View, described by the web giant as “a collection of thousands of the planet's most beautiful landscapes, seen from space.”

Read more
IKEA’s augmented reality app just got a whole lot more clever
ikeas augmented reality app just got a whole lot cleverer ikea place

When you step inside an IKEA store, you do so in the full knowledge that it might be half a day -- perhaps longer -- before you'll be reemerging into the daylight. And when you do finally make it to the exit, it’s likely to be with a wallet far lighter than when you arrived. That’s just the way it goes with IKEA.

When your purchases get delivered, the final step is to discover whether they actually fit the rooms they were intended for. While most of your judgments may be on the mark, there’ll always be a couch that looks out of place or a dining table that doesn’t quite fit. And situations like that can cause all kinds of hassle.

Read more
Google Images’ new side panel makes it a whole lot easier to use
google images new side panel makes it a lot easier to use  august 2019

Google has made a small but significant change to its Images tab that will leave many wondering why it didn’t do it sooner.

The update for desktop means that when you click on an image in a page of search results, it’ll display it in a side panel that stays fixed in place. This enables you to scroll up and down to compare other images.

Read more