Google Earth Tips Archives

May 09, 2008

Google Earth 3D Model Friday

It's been a while since I highlighted 3D models for viewing in Google Earth on a Friday. The Google 3D Warehouse has continued to evolve over the last two years. They now have an excellent way of sharing cool 3D models called "Collections". Anyone can set up a collection and point to various 3D models already in the warehouse. And, you can rate and comment on the ones you like.

Today I'd like to point out an excellent collection of 3D structures, put together by someone called 'scarpimp', which are UNESCO Cultural Heritage sites. Places like the Taj Majal or the Himeji Castle and 50 other UNESCO sites are already in the collection. Many of these buildings are already built in to the 3D Buildings layer of Google Earth. Some, like the Himeji Caslte seen in the screenshot are not well optimized, so they aren't in the 3D Buildings layer. You can find the locations of these UNESCO sites more quickly by just viewing the 3D Warehouse collection. Hopefully this collection will inspire 3D modelers to create more of the other 500 or so UNESCO sites.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 10:55 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

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May 05, 2008

NASA Time Animation of Ionosphere For Google Earth

Last week, NASA announced the release of an amazing dynamic Google Earth resource which shows time animated condition of the Earth's Ionosphere. The ionosphere is used to bounce radio signals over the horizon for long distance communication. But, when storms occur on the sun's surface they can mess up parts of the ionosphere and disrupt ionosphere-based communications. The new NASA Google Earth data can be used to quickly understand where and when there may be radio communication issues.

See for example their primary network link which shows the current condition of the ionosphere in the form of total electron content. Then, check out an animation of the total electron content for the past 24 hours . You use the time slider to see the animation, but note that it will take a while to load each image overlay which covers the entire Earth. Red means area of strong atmospheric disturbance where communications problems are likely to occur. Blue/dark means communications will be fine. You will notice that the night side of the Earth is the best time for radio communications.

This NASA information not only makes for cool looking Google Earth visualizations, but is very useful to anyone with a profession or need for using short-wave radio (e.g. HAM radio operators, mariners, coast guards, etc.). Airliners are increasingly flying over the arctic regions to take shorter routes, but in this area they can't use satellite communications based on geosynchronous satellites. So, they resort to short wave radio over the poles. If the ionosphere is important to you, check out the full list of GE ionosphere visualizations from NASA here. NASA also has a communications alert and prediction system which uses this data.

NASA has done many other Google Earth visualizations. Here are just a few:

• NASA Earth at Night Layer

• NASA Annual Lightning Flash Map

• NASA Sea Surface Temperature and more

• NASA Earth Day Top Photos

Posted by FrankTaylor at 08:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 02, 2008

Links: Night Cities, Educators, VE Imagery, Space Telescopes, Custom Compass

• Night Cities - Some of the International Space Station crew have been taking night-time photos of cities around the world. NASA has released a number of these night-time images and explain the background on what was involved taking them. Not only that, but they have created KML files showing the location of each photo, and the placemark description includes a photo. See for example this page for the Tokyo photo, and the KML file from that page. I was disappointed at first that they hadn't attempted to overlay them. But, after spending more than an hour trying to align just a couple of photos I gave up myself. NASA hasn't give the position of the space station as a component of the data, so it it is difficult to determine the angle the photos were taken. I had similar problems when I aligned these daytime NASA photos.

• Educators - Discovered another useful reference for educators looking to use Google Earth. Steve Kluge of Fox Lane High School in Bedford, New York has created this web page that serves as a manual for using Google Earth designed for educators. He also makes it availabe in PDF form. It has suggestions for ways to use GE in the classroom, and basic tips on using Google Earth. See also JuicyGeography by Noel Jenkins in the UK. Noel has been an enthusiastic GE educator since it first came out.

• VE Imagery - Microsoft has released another huge (22 Terabyte) update to their imagery. Not only normal orthographic aerial imagery, but also a huge new batch of Bird's Eye oblique imagery - in new places like Australia, Greece, and the UK. See the full list here along with some screenshots/links.

• Space Telescopes - Orbiting Frog has released a KML file for tracking the current positions of some of the more noted space telescopes. He is using his tool previously reported which shows the position of orbiting objects around the Earth.

• 

  Custom Compass - Gerardo has posted a really nice compass modification for Google Earth which adds a compass rose (adding E, S, W, and other cardinal points). Borrowing on the idea from Barry Hunter, Gerardo's version is more versatile. However, this requires you to modify the default image by replacing an image in the Google Earth directory. This way the compass turns with your view just like you would expect. Read his post for details.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 09:20 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

April 30, 2008

Different Ways to Map Symbols in Google Earth

Bjørn Sandvik writes the thematicmapping blog, and for the past few days he's been making a series of posts showing many different ways to use KML to map proportional symbols in Google Earth. The series is well worth reading, and provides plenty of KML examples, so I'm going to post links to each post below with a brief summary. He also has screenshots in the posts. The example here shows population distribution using the Google Chart API where the symbols are sized according to each countries population, and the charts show the distribution according to age. Try it in Google Earth. Here's a summary of the series of posts:

• Making Proportional Symbols in KML - using the placemark icon element to make proportional symbols

• Using Google Charts with KML - This innovative KML approach can also be used in Google Maps and Virtual Earth (although the placemark icons don't scale in those mapping applications).

• Drawing Regular Polygons in KML - He points to a PHP application for generating geometric shapes in KML automatically, and then scaling for proportional symbols like circles or squares.

• Drawing 3D Bars in KML - I've seen this method used the most for these types of maps (see links below).

• Proportional Collada 3D Objects in KML - This method could probably be the most fun. Grabbing 3D models from 3D Warehouse and scaling them. He shows an example with a symbolic 3D human for the population graph. Cool!

Here are some previous posts showing some tools and other symbol maps/graphs in Google Earth:

• GE Graph - a tool for making 3D graphs in Google Earth
• Making graphs with Web 2.0 tools
• US Migration Patterns
• South American Trade in Google Earth
• Gulf Impact from Hurricanes
• World Oil Consumption: 3D Charts
• Weather Symbols in Google Earth

Posted by FrankTaylor at 09:42 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 29, 2008

Google Earth for Pilots

This is part of a new series exploring Google Earth uses for different professions/hobbies.

If you're a pilot, there are many ways Google Earth can be used to really enhance your trip plans both from an aviation and ground-based perspective. But, Google Earth goes way beyond just trip planning as a tool for pilots. I'm a pilot myself, and have been using Google Earth to enhance my flying experiences for nearly three years.

Here are just a few ways you might use Google Earth as a pilot:

• Destination familiarization - Never been to your destination airport before? Zoom in to Google Earth, and most of the time you're likely to see high resolution satellite or aerial photos to help get you familiar with what the airport looks like. You should be aware that the photos can be an average 1 to 4 years old, so things may have changed since the photo was taken (just like charts). More importantly, since Google Earth is 3D, you can get a perspective on the lay of the land. It helps to know what the surrounding hills and valleys look like. Use the search function to help find businesses you need such as rental cars, hotels, restaurants, etc. You can also get driving directions and discover fun places to visit like beaches, amusement parks, museums, etc.
• Flight Simulator - Google Earth has a built-in flight simulator (tips on how to use). Only two types of planes are available (Cirrus SR-22 and an F16). It's not built for accuracy of flight, and the flight instrument simulation is kind of basic, so I wouldn't use this for flight training. It's intended to help give you a better perspective on the 3D terrain in Google Earth. It can also help give you a pilot's-eye view of your trip and help familiarize you with your planned approaches. Or, you can just use it because it's fun!
• Flight Planning - I typically use AirNav to plan an initial route (I really like the ability to plan a route with low-cost fuel stops). After planning a route, you can use Google Earth to visualize it. GE will recognize searches for four-letter airport designators (like KATL). You can even get full sectional charts for overlaying in Google Earth. You can also load the DAFIF Nav Aids database for the entire world into Google Earth so you can see your primary nav aids along your route (I haven't yet seen an intersections database for GE, but you could input placemark coordinates for them if you have them). And, check out Flyagogo, a Google Maps mashup which was designed for pilots
• Weather Planning - there are all kinds of weather tools for use with Google Earth (here's a collection of some of the best). These are not geared specifically towards aviators, but they can be another set of data until you get to your regular weather resources.
• Flight Review - Take a handheld GPS with you on your flights, and use Google Earth to visualize your flight afterwards. Download your GPS tracks to your PC. You can then view your GPS tracks in 3D (complete with altitudes) and see what things you flew over during your trip. Here's a post describing how I do this using a Garmin GPS and some other tools to enhance the track data.
• Sightseeing - If you're on a long trip, you might want to make sure you fly to or over some particular sight. Recently I missed seeing something really unique because I didn't check my planned flight for interesting sights. Next time I won't because I input a waypoint in my GPS to help remind me.
• Plane Afficionados - If you like planes, you might be interested to know that Google Earth not only shows houses, but also airplanes. And not just planes sitting on the tarmac, but planes captured flying around too. There are many plane aficionados using Google Earth to discover all kinds of planes. For example, look at this collection of DC-3s. Or, this frequently updated list of planes in flight. And, there are even folks who have simulated 3D flying like this Red Bull Air Race. You can also track airline flights in near-real-time in Google Earth.
• Aerial Photography - Maybe Google Earth will inspire you to become an aerial photographer. A year and a half ago, I had great fun flying over an air and space show in New Mexico and working with Google to put some aerial photos I took into Google Earth on the same day. That photo is now what you see if you look at the Las Cruces airport.
• Recreational Flying - If you're into paragliding/gliding, you should check out this paragliding forum which also provides resources for recording and viewing your tracks for Google Earth.

These and many other stories related to flying and Google Earth can be found in the Flying category of Google Earth Blog.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 09:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

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More entries for this category:

6. How to Get 3D Buildings in Google Earth 4.3 Flight Simulator - April 24, 2008
7. Google Earth For Earth Day - April 22, 2008
8. Google Earth Zooming Music Video - April 21, 2008
9. Links: GE Lesson, GETools, Microsoft KML, 3D Bridges, Royal Australian 3D, EPA Award - April 18, 2008
10. New Layers for Google Earth's Sky Mode - April 17 - April 17, 2008
11. New Navigation Gadgets in Google Earth 4.3 - April 16, 2008
12. Google Earth 4.3 First Impressions and Screenshots - April 15, 2008
13. Advanced Photo Placement in Google Earth - April 14, 2008
14. Links: GE/SketchUp Classes, Sea Ice Update, Bergen Terrain, Waldo - April 11, 2008
15. Links: Viewfinder, KML in the North, GE Pro Address Trick, Boy Finds Home - April 10, 2008
16. Google 3D Warehouse Supporting Street View - April 09, 2008
17. Google Adds More Countries with Weather Radar Layer - March 20, 2008
18. YouTube API on Swiss Fighter Video - March 14, 2008
19. Video Tutorials Inside Google Earth - March 12, 2008
20. Super UK Photo Project geograph Turns Three - March 06, 2008
21. Google Earth 3D Cities Program - March 05, 2008
22. Live Orbit Tracker in Google Earth - March 03, 2008
23. Collection of Sundials in Google Earth - February 29, 2008
24. UK Earthquake - View Data in Google Earth - February 27, 2008
25. NOAA Weather Data in Google Earth - February 25, 2008
26. Predict Tonight's Lunar Eclipse with Google Earth - February 20, 2008
27. Big Update to Google Earth Outreach - February 13, 2008
28. Wikiloc - GPS Tracks Site - February 11, 2008
29. F-16 Cockpit Add-on For Google Earth Flight Sim - February 08, 2008
30. YouTube Layer in Google Earth Updating Daily - February 07, 2008
31. Links: SpaceNavigator Contest, Excel to KML, Google Geo Talk, Crysis - February 05, 2008
32. Using Street View in Google Earth - February 04, 2008
33. Real-Time Google Earth GPS Tracking - via Bus - February 02, 2008
34. Video Tutorials for Google Earth - January 31, 2008
35. Water Bodies in Google Earth - See Australia's! - January 28, 2008
36. New Layer Goodness for Google Earth - January 2008 - January 25, 2008
37. Links: KML Wrap-up, New Orrery, Zip Scribble, South China Sea - January 23, 2008
38. Sky Layers Bug - Workaround - January 14, 2008
39. Tracking Flights in Google Earth - January 11, 2008
40. New Features to Real-time Earthquake Monitoring - January 10, 2008
41. Google Sky - The Next Generation (Updated) - January 09, 2008
42. Navigation Gadget Tricks with Google Earth 4 - January 08, 2008
43. Links: Waldo, Mouse Tricks, Route Builder, touchEarth, Uganda Googles - January 07, 2008
44. Top 25 Stories of Google Earth 2007 - December 27, 2007
45. Links: Daily Earth Imagery, Antarctica Photos, Panoramio Searchable, Santa Sleigh - December 18, 2007
46. AGU Fall Meeting - Day 1 Highlights - December 13, 2007
47. Earthquake Activity Time Animation - December 12, 2007
48. December Data Update for Google Earth - December 06, 2007
49. Arctic Ice Melting Animation in Google Earth - November 26, 2007
50. Earth at Night from Rosetta - November 21, 2007
51. Links: Russian Oil Spill, KML Screen Overlay Maker, Android Demo - November 13, 2007
52. National Geographic Supports Geography Awareness Week - November 12, 2007
53. Big Layer Update - Weather Layers in Google Earth - November 08, 2007
54. Links: GE on Phones?, PhotoOverlay Tutorial, EarthNC Update, Time Embedder Tool - November 06, 2007
55. X PRIZE Cup Photos Mapped - November 01, 2007
56. Happy Halloween Google Earth - October 31, 2007
57. It's About Time - KML Articles by Google - October 30, 2007
58. Links: Glider Towing, 3D Bonanza, John Hanke Presentation, Google Maps Profiles, Virtual Earth 3D Modeling - October 19, 2007
59. 3D Warehouse Update - Collada Files - October 18, 2007
60. Business Layers Have Reviews and Pictures in Google Earth - October 16, 2007
61. New Google Earth Add Content Button - October 12, 2007
62. New Community Maps Search Results in Google Earth - October 11, 2007
63. Ten Easy Steps to Learn About a Place with Google Earth - September 27, 2007
64. Beautiful Sky in Google Earth - September 26, 2007
65. 3D Warehouse Open to All 3D KML Content - September 25, 2007
66. Links: Planet Orbits, SuperOverlay 2.0, GEC 1 million, Google Social Network - September 24, 2007
67. 3D Red Bull Flights in Google Earth - September 21, 2007
68. New Google Earth Layers Update - September 19 - September 19, 2007
69. New Update to Google Earth: v4.2.0198 - September 16, 2007
70. 3D Buildings - Groningen, Netherlands - September 14, 2007
71. New Google Maps Moon Update - September 13, 2007
72. Sky News Roundup: New Horizon, SpaceNavigator, Google plans for Sky - September 12, 2007
73. Back to School - Educational Uses with Google Earth - September 11, 2007
74. News Roundup: Flight Sim Tips, Clouds and Weather, KML 2.2, Google Solar Panels, Pollution - September 10, 2007
75. Adding New PhotoOverlays to Google Earth - September 07, 2007
76. Flight Simulator HUD Display Guide, and an Advanced Tip - September 06, 2007
77. News Roundup: Flight Simulator Goodies, PhotoViewer Stuff, Video tourism - September 04, 2007
78. Video for Flying with Google Earth Flight Simulator - September 03, 2007
79. Flight Simulator Mode in Google Earth 4.2 - August 31, 2007
80. Sky Goodies: Hubble Tracker, Sky KML Guide, Horizon Add-on - August 30, 2007
81. Google Earth 4.2 Roundup - August 27, 2007
82. Google Earth 4.2 - Release notes wanted, new icons - August 26, 2007
83. Hidden Feature in Google Earth Sky - August 23, 2007
84. Embed Video In Google Earth 4.2 Placemarks! - August 22, 2007
85. New Google Earth Book Search Layer - August 20, 2007
86. Our Sailing Holiday in Google Earth - August 10, 2007
87. Using Google Earth and Web 2.0 Mapping Tools for GIS Visualizations - August 07, 2007
88. Biography of Neil Armstrong in Google Earth - August 06, 2007
89. Panorama of 3D Denver from Google Earth - August 04, 2007
90. New Layers Update - Earth at Night NASA Layer - July 18, 2007
91. Energy Production Information for Western US - July 17, 2007
92. New Seven Wonders of the World in Google Earth - July 08, 2007
93. Philosophy Behind Google Earth and Maps - July 05, 2007
94. How Google Earth Really Works - July 04, 2007
95. Google Earth Layer Changes - Geographic Web, Roads Layers - June 26, 2007
96. Google Earth Sky - Part II - June 25, 2007
97. How to Add a Sky to Google Earth - June 24, 2007
98. News Roundup: GE 4.1 Stuff, Plotting a Trail, Business Reviews, More Second Earth - June 20, 2007
99. Photo Finding in Google Earth - Just for Fun - June 15, 2007
100. London Eye Animation with Shadows for Google Earth - June 11, 2007
101. Huge Imagery Update Now Available in Google Maps - June 10, 2007
102. Google Earth More Realistic with Better Terrain - June 06, 2007
103. Google Transit in Google Earth - June 05, 2007
104. Google StreetView Sightseeing - May 30, 2007
105. Mini-News Roundup: SpaceNavigator Drawing, New York in 3D - May 29, 2007
106. US Township and Range Land Survey Info for Google Earth - May 22, 2007
107. New Layer for German Google Earth - May 21, 2007
108. FlickrVision - And Now for Google Earth - May 15, 2007
109. Google Earth in Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Korean, Arabic, and Czech - May 11, 2007
110. Google Earth 4.1 (beta) Released! SpaceNavigator for the Mac! - May 09, 2007
111. Multilingual Global Place Names for Google Earth - May 08, 2007
112. The Google Earth Network Link - April 19, 2007
113. Continuous Flow of New 3D Buildings - April 17, 2007
114. About.com on Google Earth Archaeaology - April 09, 2007
115. Directions from Google: "Swim across the Atlantic Ocean" - March 29, 2007
116. Image Gallery of Google Earth Blog - March 25, 2007
117. Google Supports GeoRSS, KML in Maps API - March 22, 2007
118. Skype + Unype = Multi-User Google Earth - March 10, 2007
119. Google Earth Links Page Updated - March 06, 2007
120. Google Earth Tutorials - Making 3D Poloygons, GE Pro Movie Making - February 21, 2007
121. 3D Video Inside Google Earth - February 07, 2007
122. News Roundup - India Censorship, SightSeer, Plazes, Education - February 05, 2007
123. Google Street Maps Overlay for Google Earth - February 02, 2007
124. Navigation Tricks with Google Earth 4 - January 31, 2007
125. Video Tutorials for SketchUp to Google Earth - January 30, 2007
126. Discovery Sunrise on Google Earth - January 29, 2007
127. Google Earth Data Error Compendium - January 24, 2007
128. Google Earth Save Image Option - January 23, 2007
129. Setting Up Google Earth Options - January 16, 2007
130. News Roundup - KML indexing, GPS tools, SketchUp PhotoMatch Tutorial, GE Blogs - January 13, 2007
131. Google Earth Layers - January 11, 2007
132. Play Tour Mode in Google Earth - January 10, 2007
133. Google Releases New 3D Buildings Layer for Google Earth - January 07, 2007
134. Overview Map in Google Earth - January 06, 2007
135. Important Basics for Google Earth - January 03, 2007
136. Using GPS in Real-time with Google Earth - January 02, 2007
137. Shipwreck - A Historical Documentary Including 3D in Google Earth - December 08, 2006
138. Animating 3D Models - New Examples - November 20, 2006
139. Enhanced Graphics Settings for Google Earth - November 18, 2006
140. New Google Earth 4 Tutorials - November 14, 2006
141. Google Supports Geography Awareness Week - November 13, 2006
142. Jupiter Clouds in Motion in Google Earth - November 12, 2006
143. Geotagged Photos from X PRIZE Cup, GPS Track too - October 25, 2006
144. News Roundup: AGU, Superoverlay tools, Marijuana bust, Sensor web update, Burning Man - October 24, 2006
145. New US Elections 2006 Layer, Larry Page visit - October 22, 2006
146. Google Earth Biographies: Hank Williams, Bob Marley, AC Gilbert - September 29, 2006
147. Google Earth as a "Flight Simulator" - September 15, 2006
148. Google Earth 4 Time Feature Example - September 14, 2006
149. How to Make a Google Earth Panorama - September 06, 2006
150. Back to School - Educational Uses with Google Earth - August 29, 2006
151. Google Earth 4 Visual Guides - August 21, 2006
152. Travels of Odysseus in Google Earth - August 12, 2006
153. Make Picasa Web Album into a Google Earth File - August 11, 2006
154. Goggles - Google Maps Flight Simulator, Also: Google Earth Flying - August 08, 2006
155. Update to Ping Pong Ball Interface for Google Earth - Video - August 03, 2006
156. ReefBase - Status of the World's Coral Reefs - July 25, 2006
157. News Roundup - July 15, 2006
158. Transportation Layer Improvements for Google Earth - July 14, 2006
159. Google Earth V4 - New Terrain Detail Option - June 20, 2006
160. GE-Path, GE-Graph - Useful Freeware for Google Earth - May 04, 2006
161. Using the New 3D Warehouse Network Link - April 28, 2006
162. New Search Feature in Placenames - Cool! - April 21, 2006
163. Tutorials for Google Earth and GE Community - April 10, 2006
164. Colored Description Bubbles in KML for Google Earth - April 07, 2006
165. Google Earth Visual Guides - March 22, 2006
166. Tutorials for Google Earth - March 18, 2006
167. Street-Level Driving in Google Earth - March 01, 2006
168. Image Overlay Creator for Google Earth - February 27, 2006
169. Touch and Gos - February 22, 2006
170. Why Google Earth and Prime Meridian Don't Line Up - February 11, 2006
171. BatchGeoCode - Convert Addresses into Placemarks for Google Earth - February 01, 2006
172. Important Basics for Google Earth - January 10, 2006
173. FAQ: "Weird Circles" Seen From Space - December 26, 2005
174. Enhanced Google Search Integration in Google Earth - December 20, 2005
175. Need for Standardization for Referring to Google Earth Files - December 10, 2005
176. Funky Buildings, Haunted Boats in Google Earth - December 07, 2005
177. Jamaica Me Krazy in Google Earth - November 29, 2005
178. Matching Photos to Google Earth - November 17, 2005
179. Fantastic Google Earth Documentary on Sir Ernest Shackleton - November 14, 2005
180. New Version of Google Earth (3.0.0739) - November 04, 2005
181. Setting Up Google Earth Options - November 03, 2005
182. Nice Global Cloud Map - September 26, 2005
183. Hurricane Rita - Using Google Earth to Track - September 23, 2005
184. Google Earth Files - KML/KMZ - September 15, 2005
185. Link Google Earth to Online Maps - September 07, 2005
186. Popular 3D Structures - September 06, 2005
187. Offline Google Earth Use - August 31, 2005
188. Ogle Earth Blog - August 27, 2005
189. Overview Map - August 26, 2005
190. Play Tour (aka Fly Mode) - August 25, 2005
191. 3D Buildings in Google Earth - August 23, 2005
192. Google Earth Uncensors - August 17, 2005
193. New Cities Added - August 16, 2005
194. Flying - Keeping a Flight Log - August 05, 2005
195. Controlling Google Earth Pan/Tilt - August 04, 2005
196. Geotagged Flickr photos on the fly... - August 03, 2005

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