What is Google Earth? Google Earth is a web-based mapping software, formerly called Keyhole Earth Viewer, which renders a 3-D representation of the Earth based mostly on satellite imagery. In 2003, the U.S. Department of Defense started using Google Earth to inspect locations in Afghanistan.
Initially the software was used for a number of Defense Department applications such as locating a U.S. Troop, tracking the location and speed of a missile launch, or viewing the location of a burning building. Later on, other commercial uses of Google Earth came to light.
As a consumer, you probably know little about what is Google Earth. You may have noticed a few websites on your favorite search engine; however, these were limited to offering static images from space. In comparison, Google Earth offers an entirely new way to view the world by combining open source satellite images with geographic data and aerial photography. In fact, you can play games and analyze data through Google Earth. You can also explore the terrain of various countries.
Before getting into more technical capabilities of Google Earth, let’s discuss what this project is all about. Google Earth was created by the U.S. Department of Defense as an educational tool. It provides a dynamic digital map of the Earth using over 400 million satellite images from space. The database contains data from many different satellites.
The concept of Google Earth has been around for quite some time. In 2021, the government of the United States began exploring the feasibility of creating a fully interactive online map using Google Earth technology. This project eventually became what we know today as Google Maps. The idea behind this was to create an earth engine that allows users to browse maps and get information about the areas of the world. With the popularity of smartphones, Apple and other smartphone apps, the ability to access maps and locate locations with a simple tap became possible. Today, many people use this technology to find local businesses, locate gas stations or restaurants, check out attractions and so much more.
In order to take advantage of Google Earth for business purposes, you must have some knowledge about how Google Earth works. Google Earth uses six layers of data, including historical imagery, hazard analysis, cartography, remote sensing and satellite data layers. The first three layers provide Google Earth with location data such as latitude and longitude readings. Latitude and longitude readings are important in providing a user with geographical information about that location.
The fourth layer is cartography, which provides detailed information about the topography orthologies of the land. Satellite imagery is used to identify areas of high water, snow covered areas prone to flash floods. Historical imagery provides information about historic places, monuments and plaques. Historical imagery is the most recent type of Google Earth. It gives an idea about the condition of land or objects located in places like cities, towns, hamlets, villages, etc.
Google Earth also includes three additional layers. The final two layers are orthogonal satellite imagery, which show topographic information on irregular shapes of land masses, and land surveys, which show details of land ownership. Google Earth was initially known as Google Earth, but it was later changed to Google Maps. Both websites share the same data layers, and their differences lie in the graphic presentation and the detailed maps. Google Maps, however, can be directly viewed using a web browser.
Historical satellite maps are generally considered the best quality because they are more accurate than Historical Imagery Pro (HI-I), which is the main source of regional maps in the US. Google Maps was actually developed by two groups, namely GeoSense and Google Earth. GeoSense is Google’s web-mapping initiative that was later sold to a few major corporations, including Microsoft.