Aerial photos are important for scientists, researchers, logistics planning and management, rescue workers, governments, planners and policy developers, for business like courier, farmers and miners.

Aerial photographs give a bird's eye view of the earth. Details that are not visible to us on the ground are more visible. When combined with remote sensing, aerial photographs become indispensable for miners and archaeologists. Live aerial photos are fresh photographs that are being recorded as the viewer is watching them. These can be found on sites like NASA's. NASA provides live photographs from its satellites flying in space. It is possible to see any part of the world live as the satellite camera passes over it.

Live photos are important over recorded photographs because they can be used to react to situations that are unfolding. They can be used to track any of these conditions fires, flooding, and volcano eruptions. It helps emergency workers carry out rescue operations or even order evacuations.

Live satellite images are important also in the area of national security and for making weather reports. The weather report as seen on television has been prepared in part from the analysis of satellite images and the behaviour of elements as seen from the live images. A cloud mass movement and wind pattern can tell a weather expert where to expect rainfall in the coming hours or where it will be drier; but it has to be combined with other factors like air pressure.

Those involved in security can watch areas of trouble and be ready before it escalates. Troop movements and other such actions may be monitored from space photographs. Live aerial photographs are indispensable in education just like the globe was and still is. Students can see the world from 15 m above.

Satellite images are also in use in planning real estate investments. Investors can asses the potential of an area and decide if it is worth the price or make a bargain or forget about. They make look at potential risks to the investment like flooding or other risks in the surrounding like that and decide if the insurance premiums are worth it.

Google is one of the sites that offers live aerial photographs. After downloading the Google Earth software you can click or type an address and watch any area on earth. Google Earth receives satellite images in high resolution and has its own satellite system that sends pictures back regularly.

Terraserver-www.terraserver.com is another good site to look for live aerial satellite photographs. Terraserver is a collaboration project between United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Microsoft. You can type in any city or landmark, pay and get your images; unlike Google Earth there is no free browsing section.

Aerial Maps