Frequently Asked Questions:

Do you own your own satellite?

 No, the imagery  we have collected  has  come from public domain
satellites archived  at  various US  government organizations.

Is the image live?

 No,  The Living Earth day image and The Brilliant Earth night image, are composites created  from multiple scenes and processed for visual presentation. 

Do you offer your images for free?

 No.  However, our rights control department  will periodically  review  requests
for  "no charge" use  and determine if the use  falls within our guidelines. livingearth.com also has a download of the week and these Images are for personal use or limited use described by LE.

How often is the imagery updated?

 Our data is not updated regularly as there is not a lot of change to the earth's surface at the resolution of our imagery.  We do have the means to retrieve newer data with higher resolution for  various types of use.

Who uses your imagery?

 We have been very lucky  to distribute our data among many  markets.   Our data
is actively used for weather visualizations, news presentations,  stock photography, corporate advertising, educational visuals,  flight simulation games and broadcast ( TV and print), and magazine and book publishing.

Are you a  public company?

 No, the company is private.  Our home office is located in Stevensville, Montana.

Can I zoom into the earth's surface with your imagery?

 No.  Our imagery would be used as a layer to complete this visual.  Satellite imagery
is limited to the resolution of the imagery.  If you try to go closer than  the image
resolution  it will become very blurry.  If you want to go from a space shot to an area
on the earth's surface it would take a minimum of five layers of images to produce a
good zoom. 

What is the best resolution of imagery to complete a zoom?

 We suggest:   4km earth image, 1km continental  image, 30m image of your AOI
(area of interest), 10m and finally 4m, 1m or aerial.  Of course all of this is based on
budget and  what type of accuracy  the imagery needs to be.  The data will need
to be processed to client specifications.

 What is the cost for imagery for a zoom?

 Like any other project it will be based on budget and requirements.
The minimum cost for archived data (3 layers) would be approximately $3,500.00 USD and the costs could climb once all the details were worked out.

Do you animate?

 We have contractors we refer our clients to.  Our goal is maintaining the image database.

What is the delivery time of data?

 This will vary.  We have global imagery archived and specific resolutions (4km and 1km)  and is available within 24 hours of  an order or can be downloaded from   www.livingearth.com.  If we order data from one of the many data suppliers delivery can be a month to six weeks for delivery.

Can I see my backyard?

 Over the  past several years there has been a change in the distribution of high resolution imagery  for public use.  The imagery available is 1m (3 ft) or better and is very good.  There is also aerial imagery available that is 1 ft or better in diameter.  The chance for you to retrieve data of an exact  location is very good.  Of course you must order the imagery and the data  suppliers do charge.  The consumer will probably see a change of services the next few years.  The market will increase supply and become more easily available.

Are there other planets available?

 Yes, we have the  Moon, Mars and the Starry Sky available in our archive and there are other sources, such as Johnson Space Center or Jet Propulsion Lab,  who have images available.