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Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

bbc.com

41–50 of 693 posts

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#41
Im kind of confused - they're saying its a problem for reporters and people trying to investigate, but also that other providers provide high resolution imagery.

I feel like both those things can't be true. How can it be a problem if you can just get the needed images from non usa companies?

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#42
post #35
post #4

tldr: Israeli-US agreement limited resolution until July 2020, and Gmaps hasn't gotten around to updating the imagery since.

And the US is emperor of pointing satellites at the Middle East? There aren’t other satellites outside US/Israel jurisdiction that can fill it in? Or they’re not allowed to pass it on?

See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27187416

Google being a "US Company" they are following that law.

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#43
post #5

Is it possible to have real-time live-feed of the entire planet? If cost isn't an issue, would something like that be possible?

planet.com can get you a ~12 images per day [1] for a reasonable price. If cost really isn't an issue, I'm confident you could strike a deal with planet.com to place their next few new satellites into the specific orbit you want to up the frequency even more.

[1]: https://www.planet.com/pulse/12x-rapid-revisit-announcement/, as of June 2020.

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#44
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe Starlink satellites should also feature a camera? They've already got the connectivity. You'd need a large constellation and this one seems like it will become huge.

At 1 px/m², the Earth's surface is 5×10^14 pixels, so with the full constellation of 10,000 satellites and 1 fps that'd be 5×10^10 pixels/satellite/second (about a terabit/satellite/second uncompressed). If you can shoot 30 images per second, you'd need a 1.6 gigapixel camera. It's technically possible but not feasible.

"It's technically possible but not feasible."

Not to mention that earth imaging satellites require approval by the government and, I believe, compliance with international regulations.

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#45
post #41

Im kind of confused - they're saying its a problem for reporters and people trying to investigate, but also that other providers provide high resolution imagery. I feel like both those things can't be true. How can it be a problem if you can just get the needed images from non usa companies?

They're available but not always free.

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#46
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The United States helped establish and continues to recognize the Palestinian National Authority, which is the recognized governing body of what ostensibly would become a Palestinian state. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_National_Authority The U.S. also recognizes passports issued by the PNA, though w/ caveats given the lack of nominal statehood.

"what would become" and that changes my statement that Palestine has never existed how?

Mandatory Palestine certainly existed. Although you may argue it wasn't a country, because it was under the administration of the British.

The current State of Palestine exists, and is recognized in many forums, although not by all participants; but it doesn't have de facto sovereignty as it's essentially occupied.

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#47
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as Gaza goes, Hamas rules Gaza but they're not the recognized government. I'm not sure who you would ask to make policy in such a situation. Just Hamas because they rule that area by force? That sounds a lot like asking Israel for the same reason. I don't think there's a good/ automatic answer for these situations.

Playing the devil's advocate, if the US is willing to negotiate with both the Taliban and official Afghanistan government directly, why not Hamas and Israel? (I am not trying to equate these groups; just compare the official vs force relationships)

Because they can't win in Afghanistan and are planning a retreat, whereas gaza is this way due to historical reasons, but mostly because they don't pose a real threat.

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#49
post #41

Im kind of confused - they're saying its a problem for reporters and people trying to investigate, but also that other providers provide high resolution imagery. I feel like both those things can't be true. How can it be a problem if you can just get the needed images from non usa companies?

Probably price as a barrier. Or the background knowledge to know which providers are reliable, etc. You could imagine the pricing being inaccessible to certain markets (where currency is really weak, say Venezuela), whereas Google Maps is free for almost all uses.

Re: Why is the Gaza Strip blurry on Google Maps?

#50
post #5

Is it possible to have real-time live-feed of the entire planet? If cost isn't an issue, would something like that be possible?

In addition to cost, there are various national laws that restrict satellite imagery with resolution better than various thresholds.

Which the article indicates, at least as it relates to the US and her companies, is no longer the case:

> In July 2020, the KBA was dropped, and now the US government allows American companies to provide far higher-quality images of the region (so that objects the size of a person can be readily picked out).

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