Have you always dreamed of travelling the world without having to pay anything? Well, Google has found a way to make that dream come true by building a program that lets you take a virtual journey to any part of the globe. The program is called Google Earth. This program is a virtual Earth, map and geographical information software that was formerly known as the EarthViewer 3D. You have the ability to travel the world in three different ways. You can download the software to your desktop and choose from among three different versions namely Google Earth, Google Earth Pro, and Google Earth Enterprise. The Google Earth for your desktop, which comes for free, allows you to display satellite imagery of 3D buildings, terrains, maps, far galaxies in space, and even the deepest depths of the oceans. As for the Google Earth Pro, it performs the same way as the Google Earth like the features that are easy to use including the imagery. The difference between the two is that the Google Earth Pro is specifically designed for business people.
Google Earth Pro allows you to calculate distances and areas with the use of measurement tools. You can import files that are of large vector image to map GIS data fast. With Google Earth Pro, you also have the ability to use its Spreadsheet Importer to map addresses. Moreover, you have a way of utilizing Movie Maker to come up with media collateral and finally, you can also make use of data layers to find your target demographic. This version of Google Earth costs $399 and you can also sign up for its seven day trial. Google Earth Enterprise is specially made for organizations or groups that have a large amount of geospatial data. This version lets you form and combine terabytes of imagery, terrain and vector data in order to provide a fast mapping application for its users. Google Earth Enterprise allows you to keep confidential and sensitive data secure by limiting access to various points of interests layers. You can also make layers intended for Google Earth or Google Maps with private data. Finally, you can utilize your data to form a map from custom imagery and road tiles.
This software by Google has a plug-in so you can navigate and explore places anywhere in the world on a 3D globe using your web browser. Google Earth also works on your mobile devices whether you’re using Android or iOS. If you’re using an Android device, you may go directly to Google Play store to have your own Google Earth and as for those who are using iOS devices; Google Earth is available on the App Store on iTunes. Google Earth was invented by a Central Intelligence Agency, a supported company taken by Google in the year 2004 called Keyhole Inc. On October 2011, this software that allows you to travel the world has already been downloaded over a billion times. In case you’re wondering how Google Earth does its primary job of letting you travel the world, it makes use of a data called Digital Elevation Model that was garnered by NASA’s SRTM or Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. Because of this data provided by NASA, Google Earth has the complete ability to see the entire world in three different dimensions.
This software courtesy of Google was not only made to make people’s dreams of travelling the world come true. It also comes with different uses and benefits. First, you can take advantage of Google Earth to display places that are subjected to widespread disasters. This has already been done when the Haiti Earthquake took place on January 12, 2010. Different images of Haiti were already available on January 17. This software can also be used for education. Google has been pushing Google Earth to be included as one of the teaching materials of teachers. If that happens, teachers can discuss Geography lessons like location, human interaction, movement, culture, and characteristics. Another amazing use of this program is you have a way of exploring heavenly bodies such as the Moon and Mars and place location bookmarks. If you’re not familiar with the place you’re going to, Google Earth can come in handy in helping you with directions. You can easily familiarize yourself with a foreign place by simply using different variables such as cities, street names, and establishments. Google Earth can also help you locate restaurants, gas stations, museums, and other public establishments in a particular area. Moreover, it also has a way of dotting the map and provides you different links to YouTube videos, images, and Wikipedia articles related to the place you are viewing. Are you planning a trip? Google Earth can lend you a hand in making custom image overlays or it can also come in as help when you’re in a hike through the use of your handheld GPS units. The last benefit of this program is its ability to map homes and pick up a random sample when you’re researching in developing countries.
Google Earth continues to be improved in order to provide as much help as it could for the different demands of people. In fact, on August 22, 2007, a feature was added to Google Earth Version 4.2 which is the Google Sky. This particular feature lets the user view stars and other celestial bodies. It was made possible by through the partnership of Google with the Space Telescope Institute in Baltimore. The STScI is Hubble Space Telescope’s science operations center. Google Sky allows you to view constellations, stars, galaxies, and animations showing the planets in their corresponding orbits. Google Sky is not only available when you download Google Earth; it has also been made available on the web.
Google Earth has really set the bar high in terms of over the top inventions. This software doesn’t just allow you to view different places in various corners of the world; it also gives you an overview of what the universe looks like without having to spend a single dime.