# Anybody else played with Google Earth yet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 12, 2005, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-played-with-google-earth-yet/312093 "2005-07-12T00:39:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-played-with-google-earth-yet/312093/21 "2005-07-12T21:13:30Z")
Of course. Have you checked “Terrain” down under the compass rose? ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-played-with-google-earth-yet/312093/22 "2005-07-13T12:49:50Z")
> [@KidCharlemagne](#): > > Hmmm. I tried the free version but downloaded the pro trial because it said it had 3D terrain. I only looked at 3D terrain on significantly mountainous regions when I got the pro version, but what I recall of the free version was that it was completely flat. You could put up 3d buildings in cities, but the terrain was still flat. Are you sure? I’m getting 3D terrain, too - I can even set the terrain exaggeration to be any number between 0 and 3 (although anything much higher than 1 begins to look ugly). ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-played-with-google-earth-yet/312093/23 "2005-07-13T13:41:42Z")
> [@KidCharlemagne](#): > > Hmmm. I tried the free version but downloaded the pro trial because it said it had 3D terrain. I only looked at 3D terrain on significantly mountainous regions when I got the pro version, but what I recall of the free version was that it was completely flat. You could put up 3d buildings in cities, but the terrain was still flat. Are you sure? I just have the free version, and it has 3D terrain. You have to enable it under the options, just like 3D buildings. I’ve “flown” around Everest and into the crater of Vesuvius, checked out Ayers Rock (Uluru), and other mountainous features. It doesn’t do as well on terrain that’s not mountainous, like Meteor Crater was just a spot IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-played-with-google-earth-yet/312093/24 "2005-07-13T15:53:39Z")
I’d like to thank you \*all[/] for reducing productivity here where I work! At one time we had 15 people huddled around my computer saying “Try this place! Try this place” One morning’s work shot to hell! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-played-with-google-earth-yet/312093/25 "2005-07-14T03:04:51Z")
I just spent about two hours looking at pretty much every damn place I’ve ever been to. This program rocks. And the mountains of Alaska look cool from over head. As do the great pyramids. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-played-with-google-earth-yet/312093/26 "2005-07-14T03:13:22Z")
I “went” to Monaco. There are some large yachts in that harbor. Damn. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-played-with-google-earth-yet/312093/27 "2005-07-14T04:03:28Z")
Wow, people are interested in Mojave/Edwards? I must be jaded from living so near it. ---
**Author:** ![Driver8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Driver8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Driver8)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-played-with-google-earth-yet/312093/28 "2005-07-14T04:36:06Z")
It has pretty good detail of half of Cape Town, South Africa and some of the urban areas in Gauteng. You can sort of see where the satellite passed over, long stokes of high-res in amongst the mostly low-res of South Africa. Pleasingly, I can see my old house, university, etc in quite a lot of detail. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-played-with-google-earth-yet/312093/29 "2005-07-14T06:56:28Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Holy cow, those look like SR71’s. > > 34 57’ 12.28" N 117 52’ 59.40" W They are. And that compass rose on the lake bed is really there, not an overlay of some kind. The 747 at the end of the arrow at 270 on that rose is the one used by NASA to transport the shuttle back to Florida when it lands at Edwards. The red wireframe number to the upper left of that is the mating facility that attaches the shuttle to the 747. Also, Area 51 / Groom Lake is at 37°14’37.59"N 115°48’57.95"W, in case anyone is interested. BTW, go look at Central Park in Manhattan. The northern half of the picture was taken in fall or winter, cause all the trees are brown or missing their leaves, and the southern was taken in summer, cause they’re all in full green. ---
**Author:** ![Gerome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Gerome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gerome)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-played-with-google-earth-yet/312093/30 "2005-07-14T07:04:21Z")
Is anyone else reminded of _Snow Crash_? I’m going to go looking for the Raft… ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-played-with-google-earth-yet/312093/31 "2005-07-14T12:21:48Z")
> [@Bambi Hassenpfeffer](#): > > The 747 at the end of the arrow at 270 on that rose is the one used by NASA to transport the shuttle back to Florida when it lands at Edwards. Cool. I saw it when they overnighted at Jacksonville AFB in Arkansas. The pilot flew around downtown Little Rock to give folks a view. The SR71s are museum pieces? I notice there is more to the West photogtaphed at a much lower resolution. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-played-with-google-earth-yet/312093/32 "2005-07-14T12:53:45Z")
For more SR-71s, you can head a bit south of Edwards to Palmdale for Blackbird Park - it’s listed when the Keyhole Community BBS feature is active. A bit northish from there is a F117. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-played-with-google-earth-yet/312093/33 "2005-07-15T10:30:16Z")
> [@Pork Rind](#): > > I’m pretty pleased with it (and how could I say otherwise: it’s all free!) but I still think that NASA’s (also free) [World Wind](http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/) has it mostly beat. No street overlays, but much better control over the view using the mouse and tons of cool overlays. The topo maps kick ass and the MODIS stuff is soopa-fun to look at. Just downloaded Whirl Wind. It has much better 3D terrain. But it doesn’t have as good resolution as Google Earth, it also doesn’t have as much high res areas (at least not around my area.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-played-with-google-earth-yet/312093.md?page=1)