Google Earth's 3-D Earth Browser Lets You View Hi-Resolution 3DMaps and Directions of the Entire World From Space!



What is Google Earth?

Google Earth is a free, downloadable program that allows you to view the entire Earth from orbit with amazing high resolution color. It maps the entire earth as a 3D Globe by pasting together images obtained from satellite imagery and aerial photography. You can zoom and glide over stitched together satellite photos of the world.

Use Google Earth to find driving directions, find nearby restaurants, measure the distance between two locations, do serious research, or go on virtual vacations. The Google Earth Program comes as part of the Google's free “Google Pack”. It is quick, easy, and a free download. Download Google Earth and the Google Pack for Free.


What kind of things can I do with Google Earth?

Once you download google earth, you can check out featured places and virtual tours here .

You can also check out Frank Taylor's EarthBlog and download all kinds of cool KML files. KML files are Keyhole Markup Language which can be used for storing geographic features such as images and places of interest. .

Google runs an Official Google Earth Blog where you can read blogs from google and even comment on other people's posts.

Finally, you may wish to join the Official Earth Community by clicking Here


History and Background of Google Earth

Google Earth was originally called the Earth Viewer developed by Keyhole, Inc which was acquired by Google in 2004. The engineer in charge of creating Google Earth was Brian McClendon who graduated from the University of Kansas – Go Jayhawks! We suspect that this is the reason that when a user opens the Google Earth browser that it opens to Lawrence, Kansas. One year later, Google renamed the product Google Earth. Google Earth is currently available for use on personal computers running Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP, Mac OS X 10.3.9 or later versions, and a Linux version is expected this year. Besides releasing a client based version (instead of a browser based version) Google stitched together satellite imagery from the Google Earth product and integrated it into Google Maps. While Google Earth has been criticized for being US-centric, many major metropolitan as well as other densely populated areas are available in extremely high resolution. In many areas you can see individual buildings, houses, and even cars. Outside of the United States, the capitals of major cities such as London and Paris as well as places of interest such as the Pyramids of Egypt and Forbidden City in China are extremely high detailed. Google Earth designed their interface so that are multiple ways to find what you are looking for: addresses, latitude & longitude coordinates, or simply by dragging your mouse along the planet to find what you are looking for.

How did Google put together all of this data?

NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission is the basis for the Google Earth's digital model terrain data. Because of this, one can view Mount St. Helen's or Niagra Falls in 3D while other mapping programs render these maps in 2D.

What are Google Layers?

Google Earth has a function called Layers. The Layer functionality allows a user to add various 'Layers' to the map. A layer can be a 3D building, major roads, schools, parks, hospitals, shopping, and historical points of interest. Right now 3D buildings only exist in densely populated metropolitan areas. We believe that Google's goal is to eventually render the entire world with 3D imaging from a building level. Another benefit is that people are able to create applications applications that interface with Google Earth which benefits the entire user community.

How much does Google Earth cost?

Google Earth comes in three versions:

1. Google Earth Free - Google Earth comes in a free version for personal use. The local search allows you to search for hotels, restaurants, as well as driving directions. It can be used for trip planning, directions, finding housing, apartments, local businesses, or just exploring exotic locations around the world.
2. Google Earth Plus is available for a $20 upgrade fee – In addition to the Google Earth's free version functionality, Google Earth Plus has faster performance, higher resolution printing, the ability to import GPS data, the ability to annotate animations that can be shared via KML and e-mail customer support.
3. Google Earth Pro is available for $400 – In addition to Google Earth Plus's functionality, Google Earth Pro has the fastest performance, printing and saving capacity up to 4800 pixels, improved annotation tools, the ability to make movies, as well as chat and phone support.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Google Pack requires, Windows XP and Firefox 1.0+ or Internet Explorer 6.0+ Click to download Google Earth and the Google Pack for Free!