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Comment by Eonexus | Hacker News Reader

I wonder if there actually does exist updated to-the-minute imagery of various places, just not from sources publicly available on platforms like Google Maps?

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Yes, you can buy it from commercial providers like Planet or even Airbus. They update a few times a day, though depending on the place you are interested in, you may need to put in a request for them to image it.

Its actually not that difficult. I used to fly a satellite that could photograph anywhere in the world at least once every few days.

fly a satellite? how?

Mostly by sitting at a computer and typing commands...

Dunno why we say fly, but maybe you prefer operate? Though, funny story, one of my sats had wings and was supposed to demonstrate VLEO flight.

It must be quite valuable data. One anecdote I heard/read somewhere was that firms often use satellite imagery of parking lots (over time, as one measure among others) to gauge how popular a place is. I don't know if it's true or not.

It's true and they go a lot further hunting signals that people without their resources simply can't.

https://www.financial-news.co.uk/how-hedge-funds-are-using-s...

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/07/10/investing/hedge-fund-dron...

They have the resources to spend (to them) a small amount to confirm/check a play before they make it, it's been a thing since commercial satellite imaging became a thing.

Hell the (somewhat terrible but somehow enjoyable) TV show Billions had it as a plot point years ago.

Similarly, I listened to a talk from someone who used to perform analysis of aerial images of farmland to estimate yields at harvest, which would then be used to trade in the futures market.

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