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Google Earth is a
computer program A computer program is a sequence or set of instructions in a programming language for a computer to execute. Computer programs are one component of software, which also includes documentation and other intangible components. A computer program ...
that renders a 3D representation of
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposing satellite images,
aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing airc ...
, and
GIS data Geographic data and information is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as data and information having an implicit or explicit association with a location relative to Earth (a geographic location or geographic position). It is also call ...
onto a 3D globe, allowing users to see cities and landscapes from various angles. Users can explore the globe by entering addresses and coordinates, or by using a
keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...
or mouse. The program can also be downloaded on a
smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
or tablet, using a
touch screen A touchscreen or touch screen is the assembly of both an input ('touch panel') and output ('display') device. The touch panel is normally layered on the top of an electronic visual display of an information processing system. The display is ofte ...
or stylus to navigate. Users may use the program to add their own data using
Keyhole Markup Language Keyhole Markup Language (KML) is an XML notation for expressing geographic annotation and visualization within two-dimensional maps and three-dimensional Earth browsers. KML was developed for use with Google Earth, which was originally named Ke ...
and upload them through various sources, such as forums or
blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...
s. Google Earth is able to show various kinds of images overlaid on the surface of the earth and is also a
Web Map Service A Web Map Service (WMS) is a standard protocol developed by the Open Geospatial Consortium in 1999 for serving georeferenced map images over the Internet. These images are typically produced by a map server from data provided by a GIS database. ...
client. In 2019,
Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
has revealed that Google Earth now covers more than 97 percent of the world, and has captured 10 million miles of Street View imagery. In addition to Earth navigation, Google Earth provides a series of other tools through the desktop application, including a measure distance tool. Additional globes for the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
and
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
are available, as well as a tool for viewing the
night sky The night sky is the nighttime appearance of astronomical object, celestial objects like stars, planets, and the Moon, which are visible in a clear sky between sunset and sunrise, when the Sun is below the horizon. Natural light sources in a ...
. A
flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...
game is also included. Other features allow users to view photos from various places uploaded to
Panoramio Panoramio was a geo-located tagging, photo sharing mashup active between 2005 and 2016. Photos uploaded to the site were accessible as a layer in Google Earth and Google Maps. The site's goal was to allow Google Earth users to learn more about ...
, information provided by
Wikipedia Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read refer ...
on some locations, and Street View imagery. The web-based version of Google Earth also includes Voyager, a feature that periodically adds in-program tours, often presented by scientists and documentarians. Google Earth has been viewed by some as a threat to privacy and national security, leading to the program being banned in multiple countries. Some countries have requested that certain areas be obscured in Google's satellite images, usually areas containing military facilities.


History

The core
technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...
behind Google Earth was originally developed at Intrinsic Graphics in the late 1990s. At the time, the company was developing 3D gaming software libraries. As a demo of their 3D software, they created a spinning globe that could be zoomed into, similar to the '' Powers of Ten'' film. The demo was popular, but the board of Intrinsic wanted to remain focused on gaming, so in 1999, they created Keyhole, Inc., headed by
John Hanke John Hanke (born 1967) is an American technology executive. Hanke led Google's Geo product division, which includes Google Earth, Google Maps, StreetView, SketchUp, and Panoramio. He is founder and CEO of Niantic, Inc., a software company spu ...
. Keyhole then developed a way to stream large databases of mapping data over the internet to client software, a key part of the technology, and acquired patchworks of mapping data from governments and other sources. The product, called "Keyhole EarthViewer", was sold on CDs for use in fields such as
real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...
,
urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
, defense, and
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...
; users paid a yearly fee for the service. Despite making a number of capital deals with
Nvidia Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...
and
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...
, the small company was struggling to pay and retain employees. Fortunes for the company changed in early 2003 during the
2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
, when Dave Lorenzini (Director at Keyhole) enticed
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
,
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
,
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
and other major news networks to use their sophisticated 3D flyby imagery to illustrate Baghdad Activities, in exchange for on-air attribution. During the invasion, It was used extensively by Miles O'Brien and other on-air broadcasters, allowing CNN and millions of viewers to follow the progress of the war in a way that had never been seen before. Public interest in the software exploded and Keyhole servers were not able to keep up with demand. Keyhole was soon contacted by the
Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
's venture capital firm,
In-Q-Tel In-Q-Tel (IQT), formerly Peleus and In-Q-It, is an American not-for-profit venture capital firm based in Arlington, Virginia. It invests in high-tech companies to keep the Central Intelligence Agency, and other intelligence agencies, equipped with ...
, and the
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense whose primary mission is collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of natio ...
, for use with defense mapping databases, which gave Keyhole a much-needed cash infusion. Intrinsic Graphics was sold in 2003 to
Vicarious Visions Blizzard Albany (formerly Vicarious Visions, Inc.) is an American video game developer based in Albany, New York. The studio was acquired by Activision in January 2005. After releasing its last game as part of that company, ''Tony Hawk's Pro Sk ...
after its gaming libraries did not sell well, and its core group of engineers and management including Brian McClendon and Michael Jones transitioned to Keyhole with Hanke remaining at the head. At the time, Google was finding that over 25% of its searches were of a geospatial character, including searches for maps and directions. In October 2004, Google acquired Keyhole as part of a strategy to better serve its users. In 2021 Google replaced its layers feature with a new one on its Google Earth software. This replacement consolidated some layers, but also removed some layers and features.


Imagery

Google Earth's imagery is displayed on a digital
globe A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model glo ...
, which displays the planet's surface using a single composited image from a far distance. After zooming in far enough, the imagery transitions into different imagery of the same area with finer detail, which varies in date and time from one area to the next. The imagery is retrieved from
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
s or
aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...
. Before the launch of
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
and the USGS's
Landsat 8 Landsat 8 is an American Earth observation satellite launched on 11 February 2013. It is the eighth satellite in the Landsat program; the seventh to reach orbit successfully. Originally called the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), it is a ...
satellite, Google relied partially on imagery from Landsat 7, which suffered from a hardware malfunction that left diagonal gaps in images. In 2013, Google used datamining to remedy the issue, providing what was described as a successor to the
Blue Marble ''The Blue Marble'' is an image of Earth taken on December 7, 1972, from a distance of around from the planet's surface. Taken by the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft on its way to the Moon, it is one of the most reproduced images in history. ...
image of Earth, with a single large image of the entire planet. This was achieved by combining multiple sets of imagery taken from Landsat 7 to eliminate clouds and diagonal gaps, creating a single "mosaic" image. Google now uses a myriad of sources to provide imagery in a higher quality and with greater frequency. Imagery is hosted on Google's servers, which are contacted by the application when opened, requiring an Internet connection. Imagery resolution ranges from 15 meters of resolution to 15 centimeters. For much of the Earth, Google Earth uses
digital elevation model A digital elevation model (DEM) or digital surface model (DSM) is a 3D computer graphics representation of elevation data to represent terrain or overlaying objects, commonly of a planet, moon, or asteroid. A "global DEM" refers to a discrete g ...
data collected by
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
's
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) is an international research effort that obtained digital elevation models on a near-global scale from 56°S to 60°N, to generate the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of Ea ...
. This creates the impression of three-dimensional terrain, even where the imagery is only two-dimensional. Google asserts that every image created from Google Earth using satellite data provided by Google Earth is a
copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...
ed map. Any derivative from Google Earth is made from data on which Google claims copyright under
United States Copyright Law The copyright law of the United States grants monopoly protection for "original works of authorship". With the stated purpose to promote art and culture, copyright law assigns a set of exclusive rights to authors: to make and sell copies of the ...
. Google grants licenses in this data allowing, among other things, non-commercial personal use of the images (e.g., on a personal website or blog) as long as copyrights and attributions are preserved. By contrast, images created with NASA's globe software WorldWind use ''
The Blue Marble ''The Blue Marble'' is an image of Earth taken on December 7, 1972, from a distance of around from the planet's surface. Taken by the crew of the Apollo 17 spacecraft on its way to the Moon, it is one of the most reproduced images in history ...
'',
Landsat The Landsat program is the longest-running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth. It is a joint NASA / USGS program. On 23 July 1972, the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was eventually renamed to La ...
, or USGS imagery, each of which is in the
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...
. In version 5.0, Google introduced Historical Imagery, allowing users to view earlier imagery. Clicking the
clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and t ...
icon in the toolbar opens a time slider, which marks the time of available imagery from the past. This feature allows for observation of an area's changes over time. Utilizing the timelapse feature allows for the ability to view a zoomable video as far back as 32 years.


3D imagery

Google Earth shows 3D
building model An architectural model is a type of scale model made to study aspects of an architectural design or to communicate design intent. They can be made from a variety of materials such as paper, plaster, plastic, resin, wood, glass and metal. Th ...
s in some cities, including photorealistic 3D imagery made using photogrammetry. The first 3D buildings in Google Earth were created using 3D modeling applications such as SketchUp and, beginning in 2009, Building Maker, and were uploaded to Google Earth via the
3D Warehouse SketchUp is a suite of subscription products that include SketchUp Pro Desktop, a 3D modeling Computer-Aided Design (CAD) program for a broad range of drawing and design applications — including architectural, interior design, industrial and ...
. In June 2012, Google announced that it would be replacing user-generated 3D buildings with an auto-generated 3D mesh. This would be phased in, starting with select larger cities, with the notable exception of cities such as
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
which required more time to process detailed imagery of their vast number of buildings. The reason given is to have greater uniformity in 3D buildings and to compete with Nokia Here and Apple Maps, which were already using this technology. The coverage began that year in 21 cities in four countries. By early 2016, 3D imagery had been expanded to hundreds of cities in over 40 countries, including every
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
and encompassing every continent except Antarctica. In 2009, in a collaboration between
Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
and the Museo del Prado in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, the museum selected 14 of its paintings to be photographed and displayed at the resolution of 14,000
megapixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the sm ...
s inside the 3D version of the Prado in Google Earth and
Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...
.


Street View

On April 15, 2008, with version 4.3, Google fully integrated Street View into Google Earth. Street View displays 360° panoramic street-level photos of select cities and their surroundings. The photos were taken by cameras mounted on automobiles, can be viewed at different scales and from many angles, and are navigable by arrow icons imposed on them. Using the Street View on Google Earth, users can visit and explore 30 UNESCO
World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
with historical context and pins for each. The sites include the
Great Pyramid The Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest Egyptian pyramid and the tomb of Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu. Built in the early 26th century BC during a period of around 27 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World ...
, the
Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, Mu ...
,
Sagrada Família The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, shortened as the Sagrada Família, is an unfinished church in the Eixample district of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. Designed by ...
, the
Dolomites The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form pa ...
, the
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...
, and the
Great Sphinx The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human, and the body of a lion. Facing directly from west to east, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, E ...
. In 2019, Walt Disney World partnered with Google to create Pixar Street View. A unique activation that enabled viewers to search for hidden Pixar Easter eggs in Toy Story Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios through street view. This creative collaboration elevated Pixar's iconic tradition of hiding Easter eggs in films and introduced it to an immersive new platform.


Water and ocean

Introduced in Google Earth 5.0 in 2009, the Google Ocean feature allows users to zoom below the surface of the ocean and view the 3D
bathymetry Bathymetry (; ) is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors (''seabed topography''), lake floors, or river floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography. The first recorded evidence of water ...
. Supporting over 20 content layers, it contains information from leading scientists and
oceanographers Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynami ...
. On April 14, 2009, Google added bathymetric data for the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...
. In June 2011, Google increased the resolution of some deep ocean floor areas from 1-kilometer grids to 100 meters. The high-resolution features were developed by oceanographers at Columbia University's Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory from scientific data collected on research cruises. The sharper focus is available for about 5 percent of the oceans. This can be seen in the Hudson off New York City, the Wini Seamount near Hawaii, and the Mendocino Ridge off the U.S. Pacific coast.


Outer space

Google has programs and features, including within Google Earth, allowing exploration of
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
, the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
, the view of the sky from Earth and
outer space Outer space, commonly shortened to space, is the expanse that exists beyond Earth and its atmosphere and between celestial bodies. Outer space is not completely empty—it is a near-perfect vacuum containing a low density of particles, pred ...
, including the surfaces of various objects in the
Solar System The Solar System Capitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar ...
.


Google Sky

Google Sky is a feature that was introduced in Google Earth 4.2 on August 22, 2007, in a browser-based application on March 13, 2008, and to Android
smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s, with augmented reality features. Google Sky allows users to view stars and other celestial bodies. It was produced by
Google Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
through a partnership with the
Space Telescope Science Institute The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), science operations and mission operations center for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and science operations center for the ...
(STScI) in Baltimore, the science operations center for the
Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most vers ...
. Dr.
Alberto Conti Alberto Conti (born September 27, 1966), is an astrophysics, astrophysicist and the Vice President and General Manager of the ''Civil Space Strategic Business Unit'' (SBU) at Ball Aerospace. He is one of the creators of the GoogleSky concept, o ...
and his co-developer Dr. Carol Christian of STScI planned to add the public images from 2007, as well as color images of all of the archived data from Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. Then-newly released Hubble pictures were added to the Google Sky program as soon as they were issued. New features such as multi-wavelength data, positions of major satellites and their
orbits In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as a p ...
as well as educational resources are provided to the Google Earth community and also through Christian and Conti's website for Sky. Also visible on Sky mode are constellations, stars, galaxies, and animations depicting the planets in their orbits. A real-time Google Sky mashup of recent astronomical transients, using the
VOEvent VOEvent is a standardized language used to report observations of Astronomy, astronomical events; it was officially adopted in 2006 by the IVOA, International Virtual Observatory Alliance (IVOA). Though most VOEvent messages currently issued are rel ...
protocol, is provided by the VOEventNet collaboration. Other programs similar to Google Sky include Microsoft WorldWide Telescope and Stellarium.


Google Mars

Google Mars is an application within Google Earth that is a version of the program for imagery of the planet Mars. Google also operates a browser-based version, although the maps are of a much higher resolution within Google Earth, and include 3D terrain, as well as
infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...
imagery and elevation data. There are also some extremely high-resolution images from the
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, an ...
's
HiRISE High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment is a camera on board the '' Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' which has been orbiting and studying Mars since 2006. The 65 kg (143 lb), US$40 million instrument was built under the direction ...
camera that are of a similar resolution to those of the cities on Earth. Finally, there are many high-resolution panoramic images from various Mars landers, such as the
Mars Exploration Rovers NASA's Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission was a robotic space mission involving two Mars rovers, ''Spirit (rover), Spirit'' and ''Opportunity (rover), Opportunity'', exploring the planet Mars. It began in 2003 with the launch of the two rover ...
, ''
Spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
'' and ''
Opportunity Opportunity may refer to: Places * Opportunity, Montana, an unincorporated community, United States * Opportunity, Nebraska, an unincorporated community, United States * Opportunity, Washington, a former census-designated place, United States * ...
'', that can be viewed in a similar way to
Google Street View Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides interactive panoramas from positions along many streets in the world. It was launched in 2007 in several cities in the United States, and has since expan ...
. Mars also has a small application found near the
face on Mars Cydonia (, ) is a region on the planet Mars that has attracted both scientific and popular interest. The name originally referred to the albedo feature (distinctively coloured area) that was visible from earthbound telescopes. The area borders ...
. It is called Meliza, a robot character the user can speak with.


Google Moon

Originally a browser application, Google Moon is a feature that allows exploration of the Moon. Google brought the feature to Google Earth for the 40th anniversary of the
Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, ...
mission on July 20, 2009. It was announced and demonstrated to a group of invited guests by Google along with
Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission. As the Lunar Module ''Eagle'' pilot on the 1969 A ...
at the
Newseum The Newseum was an American museum dedicated to news and journalism that promoted free expression and the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, while tracing the evolution of communication. The purpose of the museum, funded by the ...
in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Google Moon includes several tours, including one for the
Apollo missions The Apollo program was a United States human spaceflight program carried out from 1961 to 1972 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which landed the first astronauts on the Moon. The program used the Saturn IB and Saturn ...
, incorporating maps, videos, and Street View-style panoramas, all provided by
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
.


Other features

Google Earth has numerous features that allow the user to learn about specific places. These are called "layers", and include different forms of media, including photo and video. Some layers include tours, which guide the user between specific places in a set order. Layers are created using the
Keyhole Markup Language Keyhole Markup Language (KML) is an XML notation for expressing geographic annotation and visualization within two-dimensional maps and three-dimensional Earth browsers. KML was developed for use with Google Earth, which was originally named Ke ...
, or KML, which users can also use to create customized layers. Locations can be marked with placemarks and organized in folders; For example, a user can use placemarks to list interesting landmarks around the globe, then provide a description with photos and videos, which can be viewed by clicking on the placemarks while viewing the new layer in the application. In December 2006, Google Earth added a new integration with
Wikipedia Wikipedia is a multilingual free online encyclopedia written and maintained by a community of volunteers, known as Wikipedians, through open collaboration and using a wiki-based editing system. Wikipedia is the largest and most-read refer ...
and
Panoramio Panoramio was a geo-located tagging, photo sharing mashup active between 2005 and 2016. Photos uploaded to the site were accessible as a layer in Google Earth and Google Maps. The site's goal was to allow Google Earth users to learn more about ...
. For the Wikipedia layer, entries are scraped for coordinates via the . There is also a community layer from the project Wikipedia-World. More coordinates are used, different types are in the display, and different languages are supported than the built-in Wikipedia layer. The Panoramio layer features pictures uploaded by Panoramio users, placed in Google Earth based on user-provided location data. In addition to flat images, Google Earth also includes a layer for user-submitted panoramic photos, navigable in a similar way to Street View. Google Earth includes multiple features that allow the user to monitor current events. In 2007, Google began offering users the ability to monitor traffic data provided by Google Traffic in real-time, based on information
crowdsourced Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digit ...
from the GPS-identified locations of cell phone users.


Flight simulators

In Google Earth 4.2, a
flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...
was added to the application. It was originally a hidden feature when introduced in 2007, but starting with 4.3, it was given a labeled option in the menu. In addition to keyboard control, the simulator can be controlled with a mouse or joystick. The simulator also runs with animation, allowing objects such as planes to animate while on the simulator. Another flight simulator,
GeoFS GeoFS is a multi-platform browser-based flight simulator based on the Cesium WebGL Virtual Globe. The free map is based on images taken by the Sentinel-2 satellite while the HD map is from Bing Maps. The game features a variety of planes includ ...
, was created under the name GEFS-Online using the Google Earth Plug-in
API An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...
to operate within a
web browser A web browser is application software for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's screen. Browsers are used o ...
. As of September 1, 2015, the program now uses the open-source program CesiumJS, due to the Google Earth Plug-in being discontinued.


Liquid Galaxy

Liquid Galaxy is a cluster of computers running Google Earth creating an immersive experience. On September 30, 2010, Google made the configuration and schematics for their rigs public, placing code and setup guides on the Liquid Galaxy wiki. Liquid Galaxy has also been used as a panoramic photo viewer using KRpano, as well as a Google Street View viewer using Peruse-a-Rue Peruse-a-Rue is a method for synchronizing multiple Maps API clients.


Versions

Google Earth has been released on
macOS macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
,
Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...
,
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
, and Android. The
Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...
version began with the version 4 beta of Google Earth, as a native port using the
Qt toolkit Qt (pronounced "cute") is cross-platform software for creating graphical user interfaces as well as cross-platform applications that run on various software and hardware platforms such as Linux, Windows, macOS, Android or embedded systems wi ...
. The
Free Software Foundation The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Richard Stallman on October 4, 1985, to support the free software movement, with the organization's preference for software being distributed under copyleft (" ...
consider the development of a free compatible client for Google Earth to be a High Priority Free Software Project. Google Earth was released for Android on February 22, 2010, and on iOS on October 27, 2008. The mobile versions of Google Earth can make use of multi-touch interfaces to move on the globe, zoom or rotate the view, and allow to select the current location. An automotive version of Google Earth was made available in the 2010 Audi A8. On February 27, 2020, Google opened up its web-based version of Earth to browsers like Firefox, Edge, and Opera.


Google Earth Pro

Google Earth Pro was originally the business-oriented upgrade to Google Earth, with features such as a movie maker and data importer. Up until late January 2015, it was available for $399/year, though Google decided to make it free to the public. Google Earth Pro is currently the standard version of the Google Earth desktop application as of version 7.3. The Pro version includes add-on software for movie making, advanced printing, and precise measurements, and is currently available for Windows, Mac OS X 10.8 or later, and Linux.


Google Earth Plus

Discontinued in December 2008, Google Earth Plus was a paid subscription upgrade to Google Earth that provided customers with the following features, most of which have become available in the free Google Earth. One such feature was GPS integration, which allowed users to read tracks and waypoints from a
GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
device. A variety of third-party applications have been created which provide this functionality using the basic version of Google Earth by generating KML or KMZ files based on user-specified or user-recorded waypoints.


Google Earth Enterprise

Google Earth Enterprise is designed for use by organizations whose businesses could take advantage of the program's capabilities, for example by having a globe that holds company data available for anyone in that company. As of March 20, 2015, Google has retired the Google Earth Enterprise product, with support ended on March 22, 2017. Google Earth Enterprise allowed developers to create maps and 3D globes for private use, and host them through the platform. GEE Fusion, GEE Server, and GEE Portable Server source code was published on GitHub under the Apache2 license in March 2017.


Google Earth Studio

Google Earth Studio is a web-based version of Google Earth used for animations using Google Earth's 3D imagery. As of June 2021, it is preview-only and requires signing up to use it. It features keyframe animation, presets called "Quick-Start Projects", and 3D camera export.


Google Earth 9

Google Earth 9 is a version of Google Earth first released on April 18, 2017, having been in development for two years. The main feature of this version was the launching of a new web version of Google Earth. This version added the "Voyager" feature, whereby users can view a portal page containing guided tours led by scientists and documentarians. The version also added an "I'm Feeling Lucky" button, represented by a die, which takes the user to a random location on Earth along with showing them a "Knowledge Card" containing a short excerpt from the location's Wikipedia article.


Google Earth Plug-in

The Google Earth API was a free beta service, allowing users to place a version of Google Earth into web pages. The API enabled sophisticated 3D map applications to be built. At its unveiling at Google's 2008 I/O developer conference, the company showcased potential applications such as a game where the player controlled a milktruck atop a Google Earth surface. The Google Earth API has been deprecated as of December 15, 2014 and remained supported until December 15, 2015. Google Chrome ended support for the Netscape Plugin API (which the Google Earth API relies on) by the end of 2016.


Google Earth VR

On November 16, 2016, Google released a
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), e ...
version of Google Earth for
Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fitting ...
's Steam computer gaming platform. Google Earth VR allows users to navigate using VR controllers, and is currently compatible with the
Oculus Rift Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a division of Meta Platforms, released on March 28, 2016. In 2012 Oculus initiated a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Rift's development, af ...
and
HTC Vive VIVE, sometimes referred to as HTC Vive, is a virtual reality brand of HTC Corporation. It consists of hardware like its titular virtual reality headsets and accessories, virtual reality software and services, and initiatives that promote appl ...
virtual reality headset A virtual reality headset (or VR headset) is a head-mounted device that provides virtual reality for the wearer. VR headsets are widely used with VR video games but they are also used in other applications, including simulators and trainers. VR ...
s. On September 14, 2017, as part of Google Earth VR's 1.4 update, Google added Street View support.


Google Earth Outreach

Google Earth Outreach is a charity program, through which Google promotes and donates to various non-profit organizations. Beginning in 2007, donations are often accompanied by layers featured in Google Earth, allowing users to view a non-profit's projects and goals by navigating to certain related locations. Google Earth Outreach offers online training on using Google Earth and Google Maps for public education on issues affecting local regions or the entire globe. In June 2008, training was given to 20 indigenous tribes in the Amazon rainforest, such as the Suruí, to help them preserve their culture and raise awareness for the problem of deforestation. Non-profit organizations featured in Google Earth via the Outreach program include
Arkive ARKive was a global initiative with the mission of "promoting the conservation of the world's threatened species, through the power of wildlife imagery", which it did by locating and gathering films, photographs and audio recordings of the worl ...
, the
Global Heritage Fund Global Heritage Fund is a non-profit organization that operates internationally. Founded in California, United States, California in 2002, its mission is to "transform local communities by investing in global heritage." To date, it has partnere ...
, WaterAid, and the
World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wor ...
.


Google Earth Engine

Google Earth Engine is a
cloud computing Cloud computing is the on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage ( cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user. Large clouds often have functions distributed over mu ...
platform for processing satellite imagery and other geospatial and observation data. It provides access to a large database of satellite imagery and the computational power needed to analyze those images. Google Earth Engine allows observation of dynamic changes in agriculture, natural resources, and climate using geospatial data from the
Landsat The Landsat program is the longest-running enterprise for acquisition of satellite imagery of Earth. It is a joint NASA / USGS program. On 23 July 1972, the Earth Resources Technology Satellite was launched. This was eventually renamed to La ...
satellite program, which passes over the same places on the Earth every sixteen days. Google Earth Engine has become a platform that makes Landsat and Sentinel-2 data easily accessible to researchers in collaboration with the Google Cloud Storage. Google Earth Engine provides a data catalog along with computers for analysis; this allows scientists to collaborate using data, algorithms, and visualizations. The platform provides Python and JavaScript application programming interfaces for making requests to the servers, and includes a graphical user interface for developing applications. An early prototype of Earth Engine, based on the Carnegie Institute for Science's CLASlite system and
Imazon Imazon (Amazon Institute of People and the Environment, pt, Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia) is a non-profit organisation based in Belém, Pará, Brazil, that is dedicated to conserving the Amazon rainforest. It has published many ...
’s Sistema de Alerta de Desmatamento (SAD) was demonstrated in 2009 at
COP15 The 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was planned to be held in April 2022 in Kunming, China, but was postponed, for a fourth time, to the third quarter of 2022 a ...
, and Earth Engine was officially launched in 2010 at
COP16 The 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The ...
, along with maps of the water in the Congo basin and forests in Mexico produced by researchers using the tool. In 2013, researchers from
University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
produced the first high-resolution global forest cover and loss maps using Earth Engine, reporting an overall loss in global forest cover. Other early applications using Earth Engine spanned a diverse variety of topics, including: Tiger Habitat Monitoring, Malaria Risk Mapping, Global Surface Water, increases in vegetation around Mount Everest, and the annual
Forest Landscape Integrity Index The Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII) is an annual global index of forest condition measured by degree of anthropogenic modification. Created by a team of 48 scientists, the FLII, in its measurement of 300m pixels of forest across the globe ...
. Since then, Earth Engine has been used in the production of hundreds of scientific journal articles in many fields including: forestry and agriculture, hydrology, natural disaster monitoring and assessment, urban mapping, atmospheric and climate sciences and soil mapping. Earth Engine has been free for academic and research purposes since its launch, but commercial use has been prohibited until 2021, when Google announced a preview of Earth Engine as a commercial cloud offering and early adopters that included Unilever, USDA and Climate Engine.


Controversy and criticism

The software has been criticized by a number of special interest groups, including national officials, as being an
invasion of privacy The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 150 national constitutions mention the right to privacy. On 10 December 194 ...
or posing a threat to national security. The typical argument is that the software provides information about military or other critical installations that could be used by terrorists. Google Earth has been blocked by Google in Iran"Why is Google Earth being blocked in Iran?"
Google Earth Help forums June 17, 2009
and Sudan"Google Earth ban in Sudan is due to US export restrictions"
Sudan Tribune, April 22, 2007
since 2007, due to United States government export restrictions. The program has also been blocked in Morocco since 2006 by Maroc Telecom, a major service provider in the country. In the academic realm, increasing attention has been devoted to both Google Earth and its place in the development of digital globes. In particular, ''the International Journal of Digital Earth'' features multiple articles evaluating and comparing the development of Google Earth and its differences when compared to other professional, scientific, and governmental platforms. Google Earth's role in the expansion of "Earth observing media" has been examined to understand how it is shaping a shared cultural consciousness regarding climate change and humanity's capacity to treat the Earth as an engineerable object.


Defense

* In 2006, one user spotted a large topographical replica in a remote region of China. The model is a small-scale (1/500) version of the Karakoram Mountain Range, which is under the control of China but claimed by India. When later confirmed as a replica of this region, spectators began entertaining military implications. * In July 2007, it was reported that a new
Chinese Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN; ), also known as the People's Navy, Chinese Navy, or PLA Navy, is the maritime service branch of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAN traces its lineage to naval units fighting during the Chine ...
''Jin''-class
nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...
ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
submarine was photographed at the Xiaopingdao Submarine Base south of Dalian. *
Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...
and the
al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () is a coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank. The organization has been designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States. L ...
have reportedly used Google Earth to plan
Qassam rocket The Qassam rocket ( ar, صاروخ القسام ''Ṣārūkh al-Qassām''; also ''Kassam'') is a simple, steel artillery rocket developed and deployed by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military arm of Hamas. These rockets cannot be fired ...
attacks on Israel from Gaza. (See: Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel) * On February 13, 2019, 3D imagery was launched in four of Taiwan's List of administrative divisions of Taiwan, cities: Taipei, New Taipei City, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Taoyuan, and Taichung. This has caused concerns from Taiwanese officials, such as Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (Republic of China), Defense Minister Yen Teh-fa, saying that the 3D imagery exposed some of its MIM-104 Patriot, Patriot missile sites. Ten days later on February 23, Google confirmed that it would be removing all of its 3D imagery from Taiwan.


National security

* Former President of India A. P. J. Abdul Kalam expressed concern over the availability of high-resolution pictures of sensitive locations in India. Google subsequently agreed to censor such sites. * The Indian Space Research Organisation said Google Earth poses a security threat to India and seeks dialogue with Google officials. * The South Korean government expressed concern that the software offers images of the Blue House, presidential palace and various military installations that could possibly be used by its hostile neighbor North Korea. * In 2006, Google Earth began offering detailed images of classified areas in Israel. The images showed Israel Defense Forces bases, including secret Israeli Air Force facilities, Israel's Arrow (Israeli missile), Arrow missile defense system, military headquarters and Defense Ministry compound in Tel Aviv, a top-secret power station near Ashkelon, and the Negev Nuclear Research Center. Also shown was the alleged headquarters of Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service, whose location is highly classified. * As a result of pressure from the United States government, the residence of the Vice President of the United States, Vice President at Number One Observatory Circle was obscured through pixelization in Google Earth and
Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets ( Street View), real-time traffic conditions, and rou ...
in 2006, but this restriction has since been lifted. The usefulness of this downgrade is questionable, as high-resolution photos and aerial surveys of the property are readily available on the Internet elsewhere. Capitol Hill also used to be pixelized in this way. The Royal Stables in The Hague, Netherlands, also used to be pixelized. This is also true for airports in Greece. * The lone surviving gunman involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks admitted to using Google Earth to familiarise himself with the locations of buildings used in the attacks. * Michael Finton, aka Talib Islam, used Google Earth in planning his attempted September 24, 2009, bombing of the Paul Findley Federal Building and the adjacent offices of Congressman Aaron Schock in Springfield, Illinois.


Other concerns

* Operators of the Open-pool Australian lightwater reactor, Lucas Heights nuclear reactor in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, asked Google to censor high-resolution pictures of the facility. They later withdrew the request. * In 2009, Google superimposed old woodblock prints of maps from 18th- and 19th-century Japan over Japan today. These maps marked areas inhabited by the ''burakumin'' caste, formerly known as eta (穢多), literally "abundance of defilement", who were considered "non-humans" for their "dirty" occupations, including leather tanning and butchery. Descendants of members of the burakumin caste still face discrimination today and many Japanese people feared that some would use these areas, labeled ''etamura'' (穢多村 "eta village"), to target current inhabitants of them. These maps are still visible on Google Earth, but with the label removed where necessary. * Late 2000s versions of Google Earth require a software component running in the background that will automatically download and install updates. Several users expressed concerns that there is not an easy way to disable this updater, as it runs without the permission of the user. *In February 2014, the Berlin-based ART+COM charged that Google Earth products infringe U.S. Patent No. RE44,550, entitled "Method and Device for Pictorial Representation of Space-related Data" and had remarkable similarity to Terravision (computer program), Terravision which was developed by ART+COM in 1993 and patented in 1995. The court decided against Art+Com both at trial and on appeal because trial testimony showed that Art+Com was aware of an existing, substantially similar invention that it failed to mention as "prior art" in its patent application, thereby invalidating their patent. Stephen Lau, a former employee of federally funded, not-for-profit Stanford Research Institute ("SRI") testified that he helped develop SRI TerraVision, an earth visualization application, and that he wrote 89% of the code. He further testified that he shared and discussed SRI Terravision code with Art+Com. Both systems used a multi-resolution pyramid of imagery to let users zoom from high to low altitudes, and both were called Terravision. Art+Com agreed to rename their product because SRI's came first. Stephen Lau died from COVID-19 in March 2020.


In popular culture

Google Earth is featured prominently in the 2021 German miniseries ''The Billion Dollar Code'', which serves as a fictionalized account of a 2014 patent infringement lawsuit brought against Google by the German creators of Terravision (computer program), Terravision. The series, which was shown on Netflix is prefaced by an episode of interviews with the ART+COM developers of TerraVision and their legal representative. One of the co-founders of Keyhole has published a first-hand account claiming to debunk the origins, timelines and interpretations depicted in the fictionalized miniseries.


See also

*Space flight simulation game **List of space flight simulation games *Planetarium software *List of observatory software * Orthophotomap, the type of aerial and satellite imagery present in Google Earth * Virtual globe, the category of software that includes Google Earth * Web mapping


References


External links

*
Official Google Maps and Earth blog



Map of 3D-imagery coverage in Google Earth
{{Authority control Google Earth, Google software, Earth Virtual globes Web mapping Android (operating system) software GIS software IOS software Internet software for Linux Keyhole Markup Language MacOS Internet software Remote sensing software Software that uses Qt Windows Internet software 2001 software Computer-related introductions in 2001 Satellite imagery 2004 mergers and acquisitions Google acquisitions Freemium