"You're not able to equally document the actions of both sides,” Bromley stated. “You're able to document the sort of 'Earth-moving' things that one side is doing, but you're not able to document the 'shoot and scoot' sort of stuff the other side is doing."

There are also serious ethical concerns related to making satellite images available to the public.

"If you're releasing that sort of information in real time, in an environment where people are getting killed, you've got to consider how that information is being used,” he said. “It's not all being used for altruistic purposes. There are bad people that will have access to that sort of information as well."

Bromley now analyzes satellite images for UNOSAT, a United Nations program that assists humanitarian groups. He says UNOSAT is not publicizing everything it sees in images of Libya, to avoid giving a tactical advantage to either side in that country's civil strife.