Where do I find satellite maps?

WEB

This article applies to Photo Ephemeris Web 2.x and later. Mobile versions of The Photographer's Ephemeris include satellite maps as before.

Photo Ephemeris Web 2.x and later include Satellite maps and other Google Maps styles in the PRO plan.

For cost reasons, it is unfortunately no longer possible to offer satellite maps as part of the free web plan. If you require or prefer satellite maps, please consider upgrading to PRO for access to this and other premium features.

Background

The cost of providing this web app has increased substantially in recent years. In addition to the cost of developing the software, it requires hard cash to provide elevation/geocoding, servers, databases, domain names, content delivery, caching, bug tracking, email delivery, help desk, privacy and cookie policies, and more. In particular, maps have risen to be the single largest cost of the application, and so we've had to make some changes to which maps are available for free, and which we can only provide through an optional paid plan [1][2].

Version 2.x and later can still be used free of charge, but it no longer includes Google Maps. Instead, we're offering maps based on Open Street Map data under a free plan.

We believe Google Maps are excellent quality, especially their satellite maps, which offer detailed high resolution imagery for zoom levels greater than any alternative we have looked at. The choice therefore was to remove support for Google Maps altogether, or to offer a paid option.

Our costs for maps - and all the other services required to support the web app - are not one-off, but recur monthly or annually. That is why a recurring subscription model is the only financially viable solution.

[1] See:

• Google Maps API Price Hike Is Threatening the Future of Some Companies
• Developers react to changes in Google Maps API
• Google increases prices of Google Maps API

[2] It is often the case  that maps used in web or desktop applications cost more than those used in Mobile apps. Google Maps remain free to developers to use in native mobile applications. They are frequently not free to use in web apps.