Aerial photography | Drone, Mapping & Surveying

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of Contents </div> <span class="toc-extra-link selected link-gray-900 mt-15"> Introduction </span> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/aerial-photography/additional-info">References & Edit History</a> <a class="toc-extra-link link-gray-900" href="/facts/aerial-photography">Related Topics</a> </div> <div class="tlr-media-slider pb-10 mb-30"> <a class="section-header link-gray-900 font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mb-10 mx-10" href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/aerial-photography/images-videos">Images & Videos</a> <div class="slider js-slider position-relative d-inline-flex align-items-center mw-100 "> <div class="slider-container js-slider-container overflow-hidden d-flex overflow-hidden text-nowrap ml-15"> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/67/143567-050-B54AD471/photograph-neighbourhood-shot-airplane.jpg" data-href="/media/1/7233/147029" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/67/143567-004-328F2791/photograph-neighbourhood-shot-airplane.jpg" alt="aerial photography" height="50" /> </a> <a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/40/153440-050-700F6869/view-Nazca-Lines-Peru.jpg" data-href="/media/1/7233/201358" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/40/153440-004-A1139352/view-Nazca-Lines-Peru.jpg" alt="Nazca Lines" height="50" /> </a> <a href="/video/view-French-Alps/16364" data-href="/media/1/7233/16364" class="media-overlay-link d-inline-block mr-5"> <div class="position-relative --aspect-ratio: 16/9"> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/65/22065-138-CAE1BB62/view-French-Alps.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop" alt="Fly through the western Alps and take in some of Europe's tallest mountains" class="col-100" /> <div class="btn btn-sm btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; left:50%; transform: translate(-50%, -50%)"> <em class="material-icons 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Stevens</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/technology/photography" topicid="457919">history of photography</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/aerial-photography"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref40573"></span>aerial photography</strong>, technique of photographing the Earth鈥檚 surface or features of its atmosphere or hydrosphere with cameras mounted on aircraft, rockets, or Earth-orbiting satellites and other spacecraft.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">For the mapping of terrestrial features, aerial photographs usually are taken in overlapping series from an aircraft following a systematic flight pattern at a fixed altitude. Each photograph depicts an area that includes several control points, the locations of which are determined by ground-surveying techniques. A technique known as <span id="ref40574"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/photogrammetry" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">photogrammetry</a> (<em>q.v.</em>), which involves the simultaneous projection of the overlapping views, makes possible the preparation of <span id="ref40575"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/contour-mapping" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">contour</a> maps or three-dimensional models of the terrestrial surface that has been photographed. Valuable data on <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="topography" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/topography" data-type="MW">topography</a>, geology, hydrology, soil and vegetation, meteorology, ocean currents, and fish resources have become accessible with the use of satellite <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/technology" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">technology</a> and expert interpretation. Views of cloud patterns obtained from orbiting satellites are valuable in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/weather-forecasting" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">weather forecasting</a>. Aerial <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/photography" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">photography</a> also has vital military reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering applications.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/Amy-Tikkanen/6393">Amy Tikkanen</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":7233,"pageLength":155,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.9"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.9' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"A","adLeg":"A","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"SMALL","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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