Add a Google Earth Satellite Image in ArcMap and Geo-Reference

 

Add a Google Earth Satellite Image in ArcMap and Geo-Reference



The following tutorial guides you through the steps of bringing in selected screenshots from Google Earth into ArcMap.  

GOOGLE EARTH

You will navigate to the location in Google Earth that you want to bring in to ArcMap.  Then, you will add 4 control points on each corner of the image, record their latitude/longitude coordinates, and export the image as a jpg file.

1.      Open Google Earth

2.      In the Layers panel, turn everything off

3.      Go to Tools -> Options, and change the “Show Lat/Long” option to “Decimal Degrees”


4.      Navigate to the area and extent that you want to use in ArcMap.


5.      Press “r” on your keyboard.  This will reset the view angle to be “top down” and rotates the map so that it is “north up”

6.      Press F11 to make your map go full screen

7.      Click on the “add placemark” button
Description: http://gis.yohman.com/up206a/files/2011/02/ge11.png

8.      Move the icon from the middle of the screen to the top left corner of the map

9.      Rename the icon “Top-left”

10.  Click the button to change the icon

11.  Choose this icon:
Description: icon

12.  Jot down (or copy and paste) the latitude and longitude coordinates somewhere you can access later

13.  Repeat the process and add icons for “Top-right”, “Bottom-left” and “Bottom-right”


14.  Now it’s time to export the image.  Go to File -> Save -> Save Image and save your file



 

ARCMAP

To geo-reference, means to associate something with locations in physical space. The term is commonly used in the geographic information systems field to describe the process of associating a physical map or raster image of a map with spatial locations. Georeferencing may be applied to any kind of object or structure that can be related to ageographical location, such as points of interest, roads, places, bridges, or buildings.

Now you will import your google earth image, and georeference it based on the 4 control points you created.

1.      Open ArcMap

2.      Go to View -> Data Frame Properties and select the Coordinate System tab

3.      Choose Predefined -> Geographic Coordinate Systems -> World -> WGS 1984

4.      Go to Customize -> Toolbars -> Georeferencing

5.      Add the image file from Google to ArcMap.  If it prompts you to build pyramids, click ok

6.      Zoom into the top left corner of your satellite image

7.      From the georeferencing toolbar, click the “add control points” button

8.      Hover over the exact center of the top left icon you created, and LEFT click once

9.      Now, RIGHT click once and click on “Input X and Y…”

10.  Add the correct coordinates for your Top-left control point

WARNING:   Remember that “X” is LONGITUDE and “Y” is LATITUDE

11.  Repeat the process for the remaining 3 control points.  If the map has disappeared from your view port, just right click on the layer, and select “zoom to layer”

12.  To finish your georeferencing, click on the “Georeferencing” menu item from the toolbar, and select “update georeferencing”

You should now be able to overlay additional layers on top of the satellite image.  



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