Google Earth - Google’s satellite imagery based mapping
Google Earth provides a number of useful features and tools. Still it is trying to improve further. In addition to viewing imagery for Earth, you can also view astronomical images with the help of the Sky Mode feature.
Google Earth makes use of the DEM (digital elevation model) data. This data was collected by NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). Because of this, it can provide 3D images of Grand Canyon or Mount Everest from November 2006, Google Earth has improved the 3D views of most mountains like Everest. This was done by using the supplementary DEM data, which it used for filling up the gaps, which remain in the SRTM coverage.
Many users who use Google Earth and its applications add their own data to it. This data is available through the different sources like BBS or Blogs. With Google Earth, you can view all types of images overlaid on the surface of the earth. Therefore, it is also called a Web Map Service client. Google Earth supports the management of three-dimensional Geospatial data through Keyhole Markup Language (KML).
With Google Earth you can view the 3D images of buildings and other structures like bridges, etc. These images are a combination of submissions by users as well. For showing these images, Google Earth uses the programs like Sketch Up and 3D modeling. Some of the regions where such images are available as United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Ireland, India, and Pakistan. These are only some of the countries for which you can get these high-resolution images. The first city, which for which was entirely covered under the 3D high-resolution imagery, was Hamburg. This was done in August 2007. From then onwards Google Earth added a number of cities to this list.
Google Earth provides a number of features and tools, which increase its usability. Still, it is constantly trying to improve and it is adding more and more features and tools. Recently a new feature with which users can know about the traffic speeds at loops situated every 200 yards. The data provided by this feature is real-time. In the recent version i.e. 4.2 one more feature named Google Street View was integrated in it. This feature allowed users to view street level views for many locations.
Google Earth Sky mode
This feature was added in Google Earth version 4.2 which was released on August 22, 2007. with this feature it is able to provides the views of sky i.e. Stars and other astronomical objects. This feature was produced by Google along with a Space Telescope Science Institute situated in Baltimore. The STSI is a science operations centre of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Dr. Alberto Conti and his partner Dr. Carol Christian, both of whom work at the Space Telescope Science Institute added the public images from the year 2007. They also added the color images from the achieved data. This data was collected during the Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. Google Earth is constantly adding recently released images by Hubble. Thus you can view the latest astronomical images Google Earth.
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