# Satellite and Aerial Imagery

> Techniques for analysing satellite and aerial imagery to extract geolocation data, identify locations, and support OSINT investigations using open-source tools.

- **URL:** https://hackindex.io/platforms/osint/geolocation-and-imagery-intelligence/satellite-and-aerial-imagery
- **Path:** OSINT > Geolocation & Imagery Intelligence
- **Up:** [Geolocation & Imagery Intelligence](https://hackindex.io/platforms/osint/geolocation-and-imagery-intelligence.md)
- **Published:** 2026-08-10
- **Updated:** 2026-08-10

## What This Is

Satellite and aerial imagery gives an overhead view of a location for confirmation, monitoring, and change analysis. It confirms the geometry deduced from a ground-level photo, reveals features not visible from the street, and, through historical archives, shows how a site changed over time. Free sources cover most investigations, with commercial providers filling gaps in resolution and recency.

## When to Use This

Use overhead imagery when you need to:

- Confirm a location deduced from a ground photo against its overhead footprint
- Inspect a site that has no street-level coverage
- Establish when a structure was built, modified, or removed
- Monitor activity at a fixed location across time

## The Workflow

Begin with the highest-resolution free base layer for the area, usually Google Earth or Esri World Imagery, to confirm the footprint. When timing matters, move to archives with a date slider to compare acquisitions. For recent or frequent coverage, drop to medium-resolution but fast-refreshing sources such as Sentinel-2, and only escalate to commercial tasking when free coverage is insufficient.

## Subpages

- [Satellite Imagery Sources and Access](https://hackindex.io/platforms/osint/geolocation-and-imagery-intelligence/satellite-and-aerial-imagery/satellite-imagery-sources): where to obtain free and commercial overhead imagery
- [Historical Imagery and Change Detection](https://hackindex.io/platforms/osint/geolocation-and-imagery-intelligence/satellite-and-aerial-imagery/historical-imagery-and-change-detection): compare acquisitions over time to date and track changes

## OpSec Note

Browsing public imagery archives is passive and leaves no trace with the target. Requesting new commercial tasking over a specific site is not passive: it creates a record with the provider tying your account to an interest in that location. Prefer existing archive imagery unless fresh capture is essential.

## Steps

- [Historical Imagery and Change Detection](https://hackindex.io/platforms/osint/geolocation-and-imagery-intelligence/satellite-and-aerial-imagery/historical-imagery-and-change-detection.md): Leverage satellite and aerial imagery archives to detect infrastructure changes, track activity patterns, and validate geolocation findings over time.
- [Satellite Imagery Sources and Access](https://hackindex.io/platforms/osint/geolocation-and-imagery-intelligence/satellite-and-aerial-imagery/satellite-imagery-sources.md): Explore open and commercial satellite imagery platforms for geolocation, change detection, and terrain analysis in OSINT investigations.