Satellite imagery can be used to identify road signs and vehicles on the road.
Kyle Glenn, a resident of Wales, is a project manager and has a unique hobby. They monitor the movement of Russian troops. Kyle Glenn is one of the founders of Conflict News, a Twitter account. This account has 400,000 followers where photos and videos related to the Ukraine war are shared from various sources.
Kyle Glenn and others who call themselves the Open Source Intelligence Community are watching the gathering of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border.
He bought the online service Skywatch and posted pictures from the Conflict News account. Skywatch was the first satellite service to show images of Russian troops gathering on the Ukrainian border.
"We've been watching since there was nothing, then there was a gathering of troops, then the troops disappeared and the invasion of Ukraine began," he said.
Mixer shared photos of a convoy of Russian troops advancing on Ukraine.
Private companies such as Planet and Mixer, which have their own satellites, have advertised images of the war-torn region. The presence of such images means that experts sitting thousands of miles away can see copies of Russian forces in Ukraine and their successes and failures.
Kyle Glenn says satellite images of the pre-war and post-war wars in Syria have been obtained, but there is no precedent for what is now available.
So what has changed? Governments and intelligence agencies collect classified images and information, while commercial companies are allowed to sell their images. And now this content is readily available on the Internet.
Many businesses and organizations now rely on satellite imagery to monitor wildfires, crops and ships. Chris Quality of Quality Analytics says this means an increase in the number of commercial satellites in orbit, which has greatly increased data transmission. Now there are many eyes in the sky.