When did the Gulf oil spill become visible from space? Oil continues to gush from a well underneath the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of more than 200,000 gallons per day. Some newspapers have noted that the spill is now visible from space, after NASA released satellite images of the oil slick, which reached 40 miles in width over the weekend. (It is now 130 miles across.). How big does something have to be before we can see it from space?...Interested in ordering a satellite image? Just contact a private Earth-imaging company like GeoEye and tell them where you want them to aim their lenses. Every spot on Earth passes within their field of vision within three days, and they can pivot the camera in a 60-degree field. A shot of your neighborhood will run you around $12 per square kilometer, with a minimum order of 100 square kilometers. You might also be able to buy imagery out of their archives, which holds pictures covering 420 million square kilometers...
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