Google Lat Long: September 2010

A galaxy of your own

September 30, 2010

Since then, we’ve taken it to a lot of conferences, built Liquid Galaxies in Google offices all over the world and even put one in the Tech Museum in San Jose, Calif. We love watching people try it for the first time. Almost everybody wants to see their own house first; but then they start to explore, and we can never guess where they’ll choose to go next.

But we just couldn’t bring it to enough people—we could only go to so many conferences, and only friends and family of Googlers could try out the Liquid Galaxies in our offices.

So we decided to put the features that make Liquid Galaxy possible into the latest release of Google Earth, and open-source all the supporting work, from our Ubuntu sysadmin scripts to the mechanical design of our custom frames.

Not everyone will have the know-how to network computers together and get view synchronization working, but we tried to make it as easy as possible. If you think you’re up to the challenge, check out our Quick Start page. You can also contact our supplier End Point if you’d rather buy than build (or just need some professional assistance). Here’s a video they made that shows Liquid Galaxy in action:

Liquid Galaxies don’t have to be made from eight big LCD screens; the view sync features scale just fine from two to dozens of screens. And they can run more than just Google Earth; we’ve had success playing video in sync in our Liquid Galaxies, and even modified a Free Software video game for after-hours fun. We’ve daydreamed about making panoramic movies, head tracking or even real-time video from distant panoramic cameras. Read more on the Liquid Galaxy page at earth.google.com, and show off your creations in the liquid-galaxy discussion group. We’re excited to see what you come up with!

Posted by Jason Holt, Software Engineer, Liquid Galaxy 20% Team

(Cross-posted with the Official Google Blog)wrote about

Liquid Galaxy at TED 2010
Tech MuseumGoogle Earthsysadmin scriptsmechanical design

Quick StartEnd Point

can run more than just Google Earthhead trackingpanoramic camerasLiquid Galaxy pageliquid-galaxy discussion groupPosted by Jason Holt, Software Engineer, Liquid Galaxy 20% Team

Explore the world with Street View, now on all seven continents

September 30, 2010

[Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog]
Update 12:01PM:this view of penguinsthis one of the landscapeuser-contributed photosintroduced

expedition to Antarcticaspectacular view

Street View gallery

Google Map Maker and UNITAR Collaboration Shines at Shanghai World Expo

September 29, 2010

Dr. Carlos Lopes, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNITAR, expressed his excitement both to work with Google and that UNITAR/UNOSAT resources that had previously been spent on mapping data collection could now be invested directly into analysis. He remarked that users and beneficiaries aided by this collaborative effort include operational UN agencies, international NGOs and national entities from government and civil societies, and of course, the people directly affected by disasters and other crises.

We hope that the interest and increased awareness that the Shanghai World Expo event generated about Google Map Maker helps to build an even stronger user community. It’s the online mapping contributions of volunteers across the globe that enable Map Maker to be a valuable tool for humanitarian activities like this as well as a source of quality maps in the developing world. Let’s continue mapping the world together!

Posted by Andrea Fang Chu, Google Maps Software Engineer

This past weekend at the 2010 World Expo, UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and Google gave a joint presentation and informational session about their recent work together in global humanitarian mapping.

Illustrating his remarks with information about the Pakistan 2010 flood relief efforts, UNITAR Geospatial Analyst Josh Lyons explained how Google Map Maker helps his organization quickly and accurately produce geospatial products and emergency response maps. By leveraging the high quality, up-to-date information provided by users in Google Map Maker, UNITAR is able to produce and distribute helpful composite map products using tools such as UNITAR’S Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNOSAT). These products played a key role in facilitating modern humanitarian relief for the recent disaster in Pakistan.

UNITAR/UNOSAT map for Pakistan flood analysis, with transport data from Google Map Maker

Dr. Carlos Lopes, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNITAR, expressed his excitement both to work with Google and that UNITAR/UNOSAT resources that had previously been spent on mapping data collection could now be invested directly into analysis. He remarked that users and beneficiaries aided by this collaborative effort include operational UN agencies, international NGOs and national entities from government and civil societies, and of course, the people directly affected by disasters and other crises.

We hope that the interest and increased awareness that the Shanghai World Expo event generated about Google Map Maker helps to build an even stronger user community. It’s the online mapping contributions of volunteers across the globe that enable Map Maker to be a valuable tool for humanitarian activities like this as well as a source of quality maps in the developing world. Let’s continue mapping the world together!

Posted by Andrea Fang Chu, Google Maps Software Engineer

Revamping the Photo Layer in Google Maps

September 28, 2010

Here at Google, we love the experience of browsing photos on a map, and today it just got a lot easier. We have launched an update to the design of the Photo layer in Google Maps to provide you with a better experience when browsing your favorite places:

There are three main improvements in this latest update:

Firstly, we have made improvements to the density of the photos on the map, making it easier to see clusters of photos in popular locations. On the screenshot above, you can now well see that there are a lot more photos taken on the coast than there are inland.

Secondly, we’ve made the small thumbnails partially transparent, making it easier to see the underlying map, and helping you to stay oriented. On the screenshot above, the city and neighborhood labels are now more legible.

Finally, we are showing more information when you hover over a photo. Now, you can see a large thumbnail and the title of each image, so you can get a fast preview of what any photo looks like.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the new layer, so feel free to leave us your comments in the Panoramio forum.

Jonah Jones, User Experience Designer, Google Maps

Imagery Update - Week of September 20th

September 23, 2010

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

The recently completed Raleigh Convention Center and site of this weekend’s Mojo Musical Supply Southeastern Guitar & Amp Show in Raleigh, North Carolina. Turn it up to 11!

High Resolution Aerial Updates:
USA: Cincinnati, Denver, Greensboro, Raleigh, Miami, Monterey (CA), Portland (OR), San Diego, San Francisco, Sioux Falls (SD)
Mexico: Mexico City
Brazil: Rio De Jeaneiro
Sweden: Skara

Countries receiving High Resolution Satellite Updates:
Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, People's Republic of the Congo, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

These updates are currently only available in Google Earth, but they'll also be in Google Maps soon. To get a complete picture of where we updated imagery, download this KML for viewing in Google Earth.

Posted by Eric Kolb, Geo Data Strategist

Our latest imagery update is now live and ready for your viewing pleasure. This time around we’ve included high-resolution imagery of locations from more than one hundred countries! Check out some of my favorites from our latest batch below:

The Fountain of Diana the Huntress, one of the most representative sculptures of Mexican art, and main parade route location for the recent bicentennial celebration in Mexico City, Mexico.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota

The recently completed Raleigh Convention Center and site of this weekend’s Mojo Musical Supply Southeastern Guitar & Amp Show in Raleigh, North Carolina. Turn it up to 11!

High Resolution Aerial Updates:
USA: Cincinnati, Denver, Greensboro, Raleigh, Miami, Monterey (CA), Portland (OR), San Diego, San Francisco, Sioux Falls (SD)
Mexico: Mexico City
Brazil: Rio De Jeaneiro
Sweden: Skara

Countries receiving High Resolution Satellite Updates:
Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, People's Republic of the Congo, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

These updates are currently only available in Google Earth, but they'll also be in Google Maps soon. To get a complete picture of where we updated imagery, download this KML for viewing in Google Earth.

Posted by Eric Kolb, Geo Data Strategist

How to edit Google Maps and local business listing data

September 22, 2010

The world is a big place that’s constantly changing, so in digitally replicating it on Google Maps, you can imagine how much information we’re working with. We get data for Google Maps from a number of sources, including third party providers, business owners and users like yourself. And while for the most part, our algorithms do a great job of accurately reflecting the real world on the map, there are some instances when we get it wrong.

If you notice something that’s incorrect on Google Maps, chances are it’s either an issue with our map data - things like city and road names - or with our business listing data. We have a number of simple tools that make it easy for you to correct or report any issues so that we can get the maps right. Your assistance helps us provide the most accurate and up-to-date maps possible, so you and other Google Maps users can find what you’re looking for and be on your way.

Report a problem with our map data

Use the Report a Problem tool in the U.S. and Canada, most easily accessible by right-clicking on the map or clicking the link on the bottom right-hand-side of the map.

If anything with our map data is wrong, such as a road being renamed or a new highway on-ramp opening up, please submit a report. We work hard to fix the map based on user submissions, and try to resolve these issues as fast as we can.

Countries outside the U.S. and Canada should contact the Google Maps data provider to correct the information.

Edit business listing information directly on Maps

If you see incorrect information appearing on Google Maps listings in the U.S. (and many more countries), you can make updates to listings directly on Google Maps.

Once we've reviewed your edits, updates to the listing will go live within several hours.

If you are the business owner but have yet to claim your listing, see below for more information about Google Places.

Report incorrect business listing information

The best way to report incorrect information is to use the “Report a Problem” tool, where available. Report a Problem allows you to specify exactly what is incorrect about a listing.

Once these user-submitted reports are reviewed, updates to the listing will go live in a few weeks.

If you’re a business owner, you should also claim your Google Places listing so that you can edit and update the listing that appears on Google, Google Maps and GOOG-411. Verifying your free business listing allows you to not only ensure that accurate information appears on the Place page for your business, but also enhance your online presence by adding photos, videos and even real-time updates like weekly specials to your Place page.

Claim your Google Places listing

Claim your Google Places listing by adding it at http://www.google.com/places or by clicking “Business Owner?” on the Place page for your business.

Verify your listing by PIN (postcard or phone). Within an hour, click the “See your listing on Google Maps” link in your account to see your listing’s Place page.

If incorrect information is appearing in your listing, there are a number of different ways to let us know and get the information corrected.

Posted by Brianna Brekke, Senior Strategist, Google Places

Finding Places on the Web: Rich Snippets for Local Search

September 22, 2010

We’re sharing some news today that we hope webmasters will find exciting. As you know, we’re constantly working to organize the world’s information — be it textual, visual, geographic or any other type of useful data. From a local search perspective, part of this effort means looking for all the great web pages that reference a particular place. The Internet is teeming with useful information about local places and points of interest, and we do our best to deliver relevant search results that help shed light on locations all across the globe.

Today, we’re announcing that your use of Rich Snippets can help people find the web pages you’ve created that may reference a specific place or location. By using structured HTML formats like hCard to markup the business or organization described on your page, you make it easier for search engines like Google to properly classify your site, recognize and understand that its content is about a particular place, and make it discoverable to users on Place pages.

You can get started by reviewing these tips for using Rich Snippets for Local Search. Whether you’re creating a website for your own business, an article on a newly opened restaurant, or a guide to the best places in town, your precise markup helps associate your site with the search results for that particular place. Though this markup does not guarantee that your site will be shown in search results, we’re excited to expand support for making the web better organized around real world places.

Posted by Carter Maslan, Director of Product Management, Local Search

Shades of red, shades of blue: mapping midterm election ratings

September 21, 2010

With the midterm elections in the U.S. just six weeks away, everyone is wondering how the balance of power between Republicans and Democrats will shake out after November 2. Although more than 500 seats will be decided in House, Senate, and Governor races, the current tallies are so close that individual races are receiving great scrutiny: you’ll find several sources providing estimations for how each race is leaning.

To make tracking the blues and reds a little easier for armchair pundits, we’ve partnered with some of the most respected names in politics—Cook, Rothenberg, CQ-Roll Call and RealClearPolitics—to put their ratings in the same place and on the same map. You can find it at maps.google.com/elections2010.

The map initially shows loads with states shaded according to one of the sources’ ratings of the Senate race; click the links on the left to switch to House or Governor races, or to switch sources. To compare the ratings head-to-head, click a given state or district, and you’ll see ratings from each source displayed. We refresh the data daily based on the latest ratings, so come back as the races develop. If you would like to put this map in your own website, you can embed it as a gadget and grab the code here.

This gadget is powered by the highly flexible yet simple-to-build-on Fusion Tables, which directly integrates into Google Maps API v3. Even if you’re not a programmer, there's a lot that you can do with Fusion Tables to manipulate and visualize data, and in the spirit of the season, check out our new tutorial that demonstrates how to analyze Census data by congressional district and share what you’ve come up with.

Along with other initiatives, including the Election Center with our Public Sector team and You Choose at YouTube, this map gadget is an important way that we’re working to improve communication, discourse and understanding of the political process.

Posted by Jesse Friedman, Product Marketing Manager, Google Maps

Ocean comes to Google Earth for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

September 20, 2010

We recently announced the arrival of ocean bathymetry and ocean layer content to Google Earth for Android. Today, with the latest release of Google Earth 3.1 for iOS, we’re proud to announce that you can now explore underwater landscapes and terrain on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Dive below the ocean’s surface to explore underwater canyons, or travel to the ocean’s deepest point, the Mariana Trench. Once underwater, simply swipe the screen with two fingers to “look around.” You can always reset your view by clicking on the north arrow on the iPad, or on the compass on the iPhone and iPod.

As with the desktop and other mobile versions of Google Earth, we’ve also added the “Ocean” layer, which features hundreds of photos and videos from more than 100 contributors curated by the Sylvia Earle Alliance.

This version also includes native support for the new Retina display, which means that if you have an iPhone 4 or the new iPod touch, you’ll get to enjoy an even sharper view of the world.

Google Earth 3.1 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch is available now in the App Store, or navigate to http://m.google.com/earth in your mobile browser. You can also download Google Earth by scanning this QR code:

For help or additional information, visit our help center.

Posted by Peter Birch, Product Manager

Enriched Google online experience now available in every new BMW

September 20, 2010

Google is working with the automotive industry to bring Google innovations and services into cars, and to give our users access to relevant information while driving. BMW has always been a pioneer in this area, and well known for its Internet-connected cars and ConnectedDrive product.

Today, we’re happy to announce that in a joint effort with BMW, we have renewed the package of Google services that come with BMW’s ConnectedDrive service. As part of this major update, if you’re a ConnectedDrive customer in Germany, Austria, France, Italy and the U.K., you’ll have access to several exciting Google services you’ve never before experienced in a car.

BMW is introducing these services in every new car equipped with a professional navigation system as of September 2010.

So what’s new?

Firstly, we’re introducing search suggestions for Google Local Search.

We know that input mechanisms in your vehicle are sometimes limited and time-consuming. To enter a search query, you often need to know exactly what you’re looking for.

To address this challenge, cars with our new service package will provide suggested results after you enter the first few characters - similar to what you’re used to on Google’s desktop web search. Suggestions are based on your location and will surely speed up your search. Once you’ve tried this in your car, you’ll never want to leave home any other way!

With only a couple of characters, you’ll be guided to the information you want that has been fully integrated in your navigation experience. How about finding the nearest hotel with only a few keystrokes and a bit of ”jog-wheeling”?

Secondly, we’re beefing up the usefulness of your results via a “pictures at your destination” service that gives you much richer details about the location you’ve entered into the system.

For each search result, Google Local Search already provides helpful information such as a place’s address, phone number, ratings, reviews, various business attributes, etc.

But we get that you might want even more, and are now enabling you to have an advance look at the destination you’re going. “Pictures at your destination” is a new service that combines images of your destination from various online sources. Where available, you’ll see satellite imagery, user generated photos from the Panoramio community, or even Street View imagery that gives you a sense of what you can visually expect when you get to your destination.

Have a look:

Thirdly and as always, we’re continuing to make improvements to our Local Search offering. Google Local Search is already available in many cars worldwide and has become a very useful complimentary service to static-only point of interest (POI) searches from DVDs or hard drives. By taking advantage of the rich information and fresh data this technological integration allows, we hope searching for places in your car makes it faster, easier and more exciting for you to get where you’re going.

Enjoy your connected drive, and stay tuned for more great car services from the Google automotive team and our partners!

Posted by Markus Mühlbauer, Engineering and Product , Automotive

Geo Interns Close Out a Whirlwind Summer

September 17, 2010

Summer meant sun, beaches and BBQs... but it also meant interns at Google! For the past few months, a smart and energetic group of students from colleges across the U.S. have been hard at work on a number of Geo-related projects.

Many of the features they were working on are still in development or receiving their final touches. Shhh! But in the meantime, we wanted to share the timely accomplishments of GIS intern Edward Pultar, who’s currently in his last year of the Ph.D. program in the Department of Geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Between making new friends, participating in career-building workshops and, of course, enjoying meals that put dorm food to shame, Edward spent his summer working on new layers in Google Earth. Among the newly launched layers are those showing the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and hurricane data. Since summer coincides with hurricane season in the Atlantic, the recent release of the hurricane layer has come just in time to help people in those regions - or people traveling to those regions - to see current, forecasted and historical information for tropical systems.

That layer was certainly useful a few weeks ago when residents on the east coast were intently tracking the progress and path of Hurricane Earl.

With summer now coming to close, we’ll miss the colleagues and friends we made at Google, but will proudly remember the contributions we made in 2010 to help make Google Earth and Google Maps useful resources for many years to come.

Posted by Katie Corner, Summer Intern

View Near Real-time Flights over the U.S. in Google Earth

September 16, 2010

Thanks to our friends at Flightwise.com, we’ve published a new, dynamically updating KML file of commercial flights over the U.S. Turn on the layer to see the current location and altitude of thousands of flights, in near real-time. The KML file is created from data available on the Flightwise website, which they collect from the FAA every few minutes.

Hover over an airplane icon to see the airline, flight number, and up-to-date path.

Clicking an icon yields an information-rich bubble showing more detailed flight information, including estimating arrival time.

And finally, clicking on the “Download flight path” link in the balloon downloads a full KML tour of the flight so you can play back and rewind the flight up to its current position and see where it was at any point in time.

Note that due to FAA restrictions and timing of data pushes, the time of the data displayed will lag by an average of 15 or 20 minutes behind the current time. Nevertheless, we find this layer to be a compelling and fun way to get a snapshot of all the airplanes in the air at any given time over the U.S., all placed at the appropriate coordinates and altitude. Save the layer to your “My Places” panel, keep it checked on, and it will auto-refresh every few minutes. Surely this is the best way to keep up to date on what’s going on in the skies in Google Earth. And don’t call me Shirley. *

* An homage to a classic film.

Posted by Cris Castello, GIS Data Engineer

Imagery of Four Mile Canyon fire in Boulder, CO

September 16, 2010

collaborative mapView Boulder Fire Area in a larger mapKML overlayherePosted by Mark Limber, Product Manager, Google Boulder

For your viewing pleasure: a new and improved way to explore online photos

September 15, 2010

When you’re curious about a new place - be it a restaurant that you haven’t yet tried or a popular tourist attraction you’re considering visiting on an upcoming trip - you may find it useful to see what that place looks like in advance. For this reason, Place pages make it possible to visually explore various locations by aggregating and displaying photos from around the web.

Today, we’re offering you a better, more streamlined way to view these photos. With this new feature, you can easily flip through a whole collection of photos and find the sites on the web that have relevant pictures of a given place. Photos that have been uploaded by our Panoramio or Google Places users will appear in high-resolution as an overlay when users click on them. For photos from other sources, you can easily click on a specific photo to see more and visit the site it comes from.

This simple and intuitive online album experience makes it easier to explore all the wonderful photographs of places all over the world. For example, the above photos on the Place page for Coit Tower in San Francisco really help bring the place to life since they’re shot from multiple angles and different times of day, and provide context about this landmark’s location in San Francisco.

If you’re interested in uploading your photos of places and making them more discoverable online, check out Panoramio, a great way to share geo-tagged photos on the Web.

By Sascha Häberling, Software Engineer

New imagery of the San Bruno fire

September 13, 2010

KML overlay link

Posted by Matt Manolides, Senior Geo Data Strategist

Looking Forward to Fall

September 10, 2010

pumpkin patch in Petaluma, California

giant Louisville Slugger in Louisville, Kentucky

High Resolution Aerial Updates:
USA: Santa Rosa, Spokane, El Paso, Waco, Houston, Richmond, Louisville, Dover (DE), Perquimans County (NC), Pasquotank County (NC), Cass County (MO)
Poland: Warsaw, Lublin, Chelm, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Opole, Wroclaw, Swidnica, Walbrzych, Zielona Gora, Leszno, Torun
Sweden: Malmo, Nybro, Ulricehamn, Linkoping, Amal, Karlskoga, Kumla, Nynashamn
Spain: Euskadi, Basque Country
Mexico: Merida, Playa del Carmen

Countries receiving High Resolution Satellite Updates:
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Cuba, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, Guyana, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Madagascar, Lesotho, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Russia, Syria, Iran, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, China, Mongolia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, The Philippines, Korea, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji

Countries receiving Medium Resolution Satellite Updates:
Canada, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, China, Thailand

These updates are currently only available in Google Earth, but they'll also be in Google Maps soon. To get a complete picture of where we updated imagery, download this KML for viewing in Google Earth.

Posted by Matt Manolides, Senior Geo Data Strategist

With Labor Day behind us, the summer is officially over for those of us in the United States. No need to fret, though. Autumn brings us many wonderful events - two of my favorites being baseball pennant races and, of course, Halloween. Our latest batch of imagery updates just happens to include a few places that capture the essence of the upcoming season and are getting me excited about all the great times to be had in the months ahead. Check out the images below:

corn maze in Petaluma, California

pumpkin patch in Petaluma, California

giant Louisville Slugger in Louisville, Kentucky

High Resolution Aerial Updates:
USA: Santa Rosa, Spokane, El Paso, Waco, Houston, Richmond, Louisville, Dover (DE), Perquimans County (NC), Pasquotank County (NC), Cass County (MO)
Poland: Warsaw, Lublin, Chelm, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Opole, Wroclaw, Swidnica, Walbrzych, Zielona Gora, Leszno, Torun
Sweden: Malmo, Nybro, Ulricehamn, Linkoping, Amal, Karlskoga, Kumla, Nynashamn
Spain: Euskadi, Basque Country
Mexico: Merida, Playa del Carmen

Countries receiving High Resolution Satellite Updates:
Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Cuba, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, Guyana, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Chile, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Madagascar, Lesotho, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Hungary, Slovenia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Russia, Syria, Iran, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, China, Mongolia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, The Philippines, Korea, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji

Countries receiving Medium Resolution Satellite Updates:
Canada, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, China, Thailand

These updates are currently only available in Google Earth, but they'll also be in Google Maps soon. To get a complete picture of where we updated imagery, download this KML for viewing in Google Earth.

Posted by Matt Manolides, Senior Geo Data Strategist