Satellite Surfing

Yes, it’s been slashdotted, but Google Moon is still cool (be sure to zoom in all the way). However, the Google toy that you must play with is Google Earth. You have to download their tool and it’s only working on PCs so far, but it’s even more amazing than their description suggests. You can get driving directions overlayed on a satellite map, and then watch a zoom-through simulation of the route. There’s not just pan, zoom, and rotate, but also tilt capabilities. Within the US, but not all other countries, it will label the roads on the image, point out areas of interest, or even indicate all restaurants and hotels in the area, with mouseover giving you the address, phone number, and a link to do a Google Search on the establishment. It’s just unreal.

Playing with it the other night, I managed to find something that is puzzling me though. There appears to be an absolutely immense structure, strongly resembling a solar panel, in Kenya, and I can’t figure out what it is. To find it, either go to Nairobi, Kenya and, at an eye altitude of about 20 miles, pan to the east, or go directly to 1 degree 14′ 40.60″ S, 37 degrees 01′ 04.06″ E. What is that thing?!?!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *