thought you guys would enjoy this on a couple of levels..one the info
and two the pics..and finding the ship thur the clouds...
i found it ..so maybe there is hope for me..lol
http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/14/9447273-satellite-spots-chinas-first-aircraft-carrier-at-sea?chromedomain=cosmiclog
Satellite spots China's first aircraft carrier at sea
Alan Boyle writes
A commercial satellite operator says it has captured a rare image of China's first aircraft carrier as it sailed through the Yellow Sea, after going through an exercise that's the 21st-century equivalent of finding a needle in a haystack.
DigitalGlobe said the aircraft carrier showed up on a cloud-filled picture snapped on Dec. 8 by its polar-orbiting QuickBird satellite from a height of 280 miles (450 kilometers). An analyst spotted the ship while checking the image on Tuesday, said Stephen Wood, the director of the company's analysis center.
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"There is something that is always indispensable about having people involved," Wood told me. The ship was identified "using a combination of the satellite imagery plus open-source material on the Internet, and geography," he said, but "at the end of the day, it still comes down to a person."
Experts have been hoping for months to get a glimpse of the aircraft carrier at sea. The former Soviet Union started building the ship, originally known as the Varyag, but never finished it. After the Soviet breakup, the Varyag ended up in the hands of the Ukrainian government. The ship was auctioned off to the Chinese in 1998. Since then, the Varyag, which has reportedly been rechristened the Shi Lang, has been under refurbishment for sea service.
"This is a ship and a story that has had legs for many years," Wood said.
(http://i45.servimg.com/u/f45/13/55/53/83/11121410.jpg)
This satellite image provided by the the DigitalGlobe Analysis Center shows the Chinese aircraft carrier Shi Lang (Varyag) sailing in the Yellow Sea. The picture was acquired Dec. 8 by DigitalGlobe's QuickBird satellite.
(http://i45.servimg.com/u/f45/13/55/53/83/11121411.jpg)
Don't feel bad if you can't spot the aircraft carrier in this wide-field version of the satellite image from QuickBird. It's in the very center of the picture.
nice list and vid at link
QuickBird's view of the Shi Lang serves as today's offering from the Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar, which features an image of Earth from space every day from now until Christmas. Here are the past offerings in the series:
•The full Cosmic Log Space Advent Calendar
It's pretty easy to spot when you've seen the top image first. It's a lot harder without.
We could do with someone from USAF or RAF photographic intelligence on this site if you ask me.