Satellite sight: the earth through a Canon lens

3 min
A satellite view of the Palm Jumeirah Island in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

A satellite view of the Palm Jumeirah Island in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The word ‘satellite’ might not be one which immediately springs to mind when you think about Canon, but we’ve been in the space industry for around fifteen years and transmitting incredible images back to earth from small but powerful micro-satellites since 2017.

At just 500mm x 500mm x 850mm, our first – the CE-SAT-1 – comes in barely bigger than a piece of carry-on luggage, but it’s loaded with an image processing system powerful enough to count cars from a low-space orbit of 500km. Held securely within its chassis is a combination of our Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera and a 400mm diameter Catadioptric Cassegrain telescope, as well as a PowerShot compact digital camera.

Since then, our team at Canon Electronics in Japan have launched two further image-capturing satellites. In 2020, the CE-SAT-IIB took an unreleased ultra-high-sensitivity camera to space, alongside a Canon EOS M100 and a PowerShot G9 X Mark II. In early 2024, the CE-SAT-IE joined the pair in orbit. Designed to capture both still images and video, it carries a Canon EOS R5 (attached to a 400mm aperture telescope) and a PowerShot S110.

Together, the trio continually send images back to earth via Japan’s Remote Sensing Technology Centre, which both operates the satellites and processes the image data. What they receive provides geospatial information for everything from earth mapping and climate monitoring to more commercial uses, such as traffic management, agricultural and aquacultural monitoring.

However, as useful as these images are, there’s also something just plain magical about seeing the places we know captured from hundreds of kilometres above the earth. So, our image galleries below contain plenty of familiar places – albeit shown in very unfamiliar ways – but we’ve also included views of some glorious celestial objects, and the Moon and Mars, in all their cosmic drama and beauty.

Ultra High Sensitivity Camera (from the CE-SAT-IIB)

A satellite view of London at night, illuminated by countless lights.

London (night)

A satellite view of Paris at night, illuminated by countless lights.

Paris (night)

EOS M100 (from the CE-SAT-IIB)

A spherical cluster of stars against a dark background.

Omega Centauri

A field of stars with a prominent nebula in the right.

Eta Carina Nebula

A field of stars with a prominent nebula in the centre.

Lagoon Nebula

EOS 5D Mark III (from the CE-SAT-1)

A satellite view of the moon and mars.

The Moon & Mars

A satellite view of view of the Giza Necropolis, showing the Great Pyramids and surrounding urban areas.

Cairo (Giza pyramid complex)

PowerShot SS10 (from the CE-SAT-IE)

A satellite view of Earth, focusing on the Mediterranean Sea and surrounding regions.

Italy and Greece

A satellite view of Earth, focusing on a Lake Baikal and surrounding mountainous region.

Lake Baikal (Russia)

A satellite view of Turkey, focusing on a large landmass with mountains, clouds, and a coastline.

Turkey

A satellite view of Earth, focusing on the African continent and the Red Sea.

Tunisia

Images used with kind permission from Canon Electronics Inc.

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