Satellite Imagery of Slovakia updated on Google Earth
Updated. Satellite imagery of Slovak Republic and some other Central European (CE) countries on Google Earth (and Google Maps) got an update recently.
Detailed satellite imagery of Slovak Republic on Google Earth was very limited until recently. Only the country’s capital Bratislava and a few more other regions were covered with detailed photographs, dated to summer of year 2005 or earlier. For detailed satellite imagery of the entire country, users would turn to maps on ATLAS.sk, a project which aspires to be a leader in localization services in Slovakia.
This has changed recently as detailed coverage of the entire country was added on Google Earth and Google Maps, although not in such great detail as observed on previously existing detailed photographs. Previously existing detailed imagery remained the same, with no update.
A quick comparison of satellite imagery on Google Earth and ATLAS reveals that while ATLAS offers much more detailed imagery (50 cm / px), the imagery on Google is more recent. I zoomed in on a site where the largest highway crossing in the country is being build, west of city of Prešov. ATLAS photograph (top) reveals an untouched, old crossroad, while the image on Google already shows signs of work, which began in April 2008 (below). Geographic coordinates: 48°59′53.24″N, 1°12′11.29″E
Update, 5 Oct 2008: It appears that for entire region of Slovakia, Google switched to Eurosense/Geodis imagery data, the same as used by ATLAS. This blog post is hereby not valid anymore.
Update, 19 Oct 2008: Recently, ATLAS made available the updated Eurosense/Geodis imagery for Bratislava, dated to April 2007, the same resolution.