It is possible to see near real-time cloud cover with. Today, this process is largely automated as tech giants such as Bing, Google and Apple, use algorithms that grab satellite data and ground measurements from a variety of datasets to keep maps updated - meaning that they can usurp state topographical organisations. Google Earth shows relatively recent imagery of our Earths surfaces, but not real-time images. It seems difficult to transfer the waypoint from Google Earth web to Google Maps. If I see some photos and I like the place, I might want to drop a pin there. There are only 360 photos in Google Maps.

But I also want to view the photos taken by others, I cant find them in Google Maps. Then, when flight became more common, topographical services began the practice of photogrammetry, where stereo images - image pairs that are slightly offset from each other - were compared using a stereoscope which then informed the creation of a topographic map. I think Google Maps is the right choice for this purpose. In a pre-digital era, map surveyors would have been out on foot taking measurements and recording where things were in particular locations, which were then relayed to a map draughtsperson - usually part of a state topographical service. To begin to understand what prompts people to hide things on digital maps, it pays to take a step back to understand how cartography happens today. Prior to GPS, illustration and aerial photography provided the bulk of cartographic information.

Earth view from google earth