Google Earth is already a powerful tool for observing our planet, but today it is getting a major update with the introduction of a new time in 3D-lapse feature.
Described by Google Earth director Rebecca Moore as the largest update to Google Earth since 2017, Timelapse in Google Earth combines more than 24 million satellite photos, two petabytes of data, and 2 million hours of CPU processing time to create a 4.4-interactive view of terapixel showing how the Earth has changed from 1984 to 2020.
Although Google Earth had a simplistic time,previous expiration option, the new feature represents a major update with full 3D coverage from around the world. Users can choose virtually anywhere on Earth, change camera angles, and select a specific year you want to see.
You can access Timelapse in Google Earth by simply logging in to g.co/Timelapse or by hitting the ship’s wheel icon in Google Earth and selecting Timelapse, Google also provides more than 200 spotlights and guided tours to specific places like Las Vegas, Kuwait City, and the Columbia Glacier in Alaska. And if that’s not enough, Google has posted more than 800 additional timeslapse videos intended for public use here, which can also be downloaded for free or viewed on YouTube.
Google’s goal is to create a powerful and interactive way to see our world change over time people will get closer to it understanding the type of impact humans have and natural phenomena have on our planet. After all, it isIt’s one thing to hear about the decline of the rainforest or the melting of glaciers, but it’s a completely different thing to see it play before your eyes.
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Photos used in the new time of Google Earth-the lapse feature is courtesy of NASA and the Landsat of USGS and the program Copernicus of the European Union initiative, the three satellites (Landsat-8, Sentinel 2a and Sentinel 2b) allow Google to get a newly updated image of the world every 2.5 days.
However, while US and EU satellites are some of the most sophisticated in the world, there are some limitations to Timelapse in Google Earth, specifically when it comes to finer details. Instead of being like Street View in Google Maps, Timelapse in Google Earth was designed to show landscape level changes that make tracking easier. changes on a large scale over time, rather than more granular things, like building a single road or new house.
Tor create models and composite images that are seen in Google Earth; Google partnered with Carnegie Mellon’s CREATE Lab to design algorithms that drive your new time-lapse feature.
In the future, Google says it expects to update Timelapse to Google Earth once a year (or more often, if possible). And if the new time of Google Earth-The lapse feature can’t convince people that climate change is real and that humans have a massive impact on the environment, I’m not sure what it will do.