Originally Posted by twentyman
Spy planes and satellites are said to be able to read a numberplate from a great height. Why are all the pix of probable wreckage such poor definition?
People watch way too many movies.
No satellite can read a license plate, even a military one. The distortion caused by the atmosphere alone would make it almost impossible.
But regarding the definition of the images so far released and their quality, it's easy to explain why they appear to have such a low definition.
You have to think of a satellite as a SLR camera... You either "zoom in" and cover a small area, and if you do so you're able to better identify anything that's inside that area, or you "zoom out" and cover a wider one, but of course if that's done it's harder to identify individual pieces or wreckage or so.
As no one really knows where the wreckage is, they have to cover a wider area hoping to find something resembling what they want to find. If they "zoom out" they'll cover more area and have more to work with, but they'll have to magnify and try to extrapolate anything they find.
Regards.