Obama Inaugural Captured By GeoEye-1 From Height Of 423 Miles

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Obama Inaugural Captured By GeoEye-1 From Height Of 423 Miles

GeoEye-1 capture of inaugural GeoEye-1 collected an image over the United States Capitol and the Inauguration of President Barack Obama. The image, taken from 423 miles in space, is the world’s highest resolution, color satellite image of the Inaugural celebration.

The image, taken through high, whispy white clouds over Washington D.C., shows the monuments along the National Mall and masses of people between the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial. Among the many interesting features in the image are the clusters of people gathered around large jumbotron screens. The image was taken by GeoEye’s newest satellite, GeoEye-1, as it moved from north to south along the eastern seaboard of the United States traveling at 17,000 mph, or about four miles per second. GeoEye-1 is able to discern objects on the ground as small as 0.41-meter, or about 16 inches in size, which represents an object about the size of home plate on a baseball diamond. However, due to current U.S. licensing restrictions, the imagery is re-sampled to half-meter ground resolution. The satellite is currently in its final stages of check-out and calibration. The 4,300-pound satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on September 6, 2008. GeoEye is making the imagery available at no cost.