Google Earth has long been the go-to source for satellite views of Earth, but now they have serious competition from a source with what seems like an unfair advantage, NASA.
Working in tandem with Japan's Advanced Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) flying on NASA's Terra spacecraft, the map uses hundreds of thousands of stereoscopic image pairs to deliver a 3D effect that's much more convincing than Google Earth's simulated effect.
A few individual images from this project have already been released, but now NASA says that the database covers 99% of the Earth's surface.
NASA says that the map will be useful for road planners, environmentalists, scientists searching for natural resources, and of course people who just want to take a virtual tour of the planet from their sofas. Check out the video which flies you around Hawaii's Oahu island to get the idea.
NASA, via Treehugger
A few individual images from this project have already been released, but now NASA says that the database covers 99% of the Earth's surface.
NASA says that the map will be useful for road planners, environmentalists, scientists searching for natural resources, and of course people who just want to take a virtual tour of the planet from their sofas. Check out the video which flies you around Hawaii's Oahu island to get the idea.
NASA, via Treehugger
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