Help us settle this debate over satellites?

Today in school some friends and I were arguing about how Google Earth street view is taken. I was under the impression that the pictures are taken from outer space, but my friend said that the pictures are taken from a car. After doing some research I found that he was right about the cars, but I insist that the technology exists that can zoom in far enough to read your watch or see the dinner on your plate. My friend is convinced that this is impossible and there is no such technology. Any information you have would be appreciated. Thanks!Help us settle this debate over satellites?
I used to be in the US Air Force. We were told that the CIA/USAF have spy satellites that are capable of reading rank insignia on the shoulders of Russian soldiers and a newspaper headline from space. This was the original reason to develop digital photography, believe it or not, in order to spy better from space. The digital photo is a spin-off of this technology. Yogi Berra said, "You can observe a lot by just looking." Believe me, a 50-90cm aperture telescope mounted on a spy satellite operating at 100 miles up can see a LOT. Remember that the Mars reconnaissance orbiter was able to directly photograph the Spirit and Opportunity rovers from space, at a much higher altitude with much smaller aperture telescopes.
Reading a watch is probably not possible from space. Very small things require very large diameter camera apertures; as a very rough estimate, if you want to see an object that's "D" inches in diameter from low earth orbit, you need lens or mirror at least (about) 135/D inches in diameter. That's more than 10 feet across to read a watch. This is a limitation of optics that not even spy technology can overcome.



But the bigger issue with the "street view" hypothesis is the angle from which the pictures are shot! It's quite obvious that they were shot from down low. For example, in many street view scenes you can see people that are UNDER some kind of overhanging roof or tree, etc. How do you suppose a satellite (located ABOVE the roof or tree) could possibly see that person?Help us settle this debate over satellites?
Google Earth views from above do come from satellite pictures.

Google Earth street views come from cars and trucks that drive around taking pictures as they drive up and down city streets.



As for satellites that can zoom in, yes, there are some military satellites that can zoom in close enough to read license plates. Watches, maybe. These are not available for use by anyone other than top security clearanced military personnel.Help us settle this debate over satellites?
You're both right ... satellites take pictures from above, automobiles take pictures at street level.

You can find out all the details here, including the vehicle mounted 360 degree camera.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Stre鈥?/a>
Most military satellites have a mirror about 6 feet (2m) diameter, that means the smallest thing the can see is an automobile.



Most of the arial shots on google are ta\ken by aircraft, not satellites
Totally agree. The government has satellites up there that can zoom in just that close. No joke.

eye color