Just a Quick Question

[BiG Man]

Hi wonder if somebody could answer what might seem a silly question but has me baffled

Ok when looking up using a telescope/scope or bins to view astro subjects, you tend to get a haze/light pollution associated with out atmosphere ,so why when looking down (ie: Google maps or other sats) are images/things quite clear?

no doubt they have to see through the same layers that someone looking up has to (although in reverse order), isn't that why they put the Hubble beyond our atmosphere to cut this out?

thanks

steve

[Peter Drew]

The light pollution varies depending on the angle you look through, it's at minimum vertically above you, the position Google uses and at a maximum towards the horizon. Google images are also taken in daylight which helps. If you are flying, the view looking vertically downwards is always clearer than that in the far distance for the same reason.

[Stargazer33]

Also, don't forget that it is only the very extreme images that are taken from satellites. The closer images are taken from aircraft, so much less atmosphere between the camera and the target. Even with the extreme images taken from satellites; they are still a heck of a lot closer to their target than your eye is to your astronomical target.

[BiG Man]

thanks for the reply's chaps, (guess reading to much of them spy books where sats get to read a car number plate from space) but your answers were really informative.