NASA WorldWind and Google Maps
There has been a lot of buzz in the news lately about map-related resources that are now available on the web. Two of the products that have received most of the attention are NASA WorldWind and Google Maps.
WorldWind is a downloadable application that allows you to spin the Earth in three dimensions and zoom in on any location to see detail such as streets and buildings. It uses satellite imagery from NASA. It is a large download (over 180 MB), and requires a fast computer and a high-speed Internet connection. It downloads large amounts of data as you zoom in and out (click Ctrl-H to see the current download activity).
Another great feature is its ability to tilt or angle the camera and display 3D graphics of the surface, so you can fly above the Grand Canyon and past Mount St. Helens as if you were playing an airplane simulation game.
WorldWind also provides the ability to quickly find a city or location. To find a particular location, click the Find icon (the fourth icon from the left, the magnifying glass). Type in a location (for example: saint helens, mount), and click the Search button. WorldWind will display a list of possible locations in the Results window. If the correct location appears in the window, click the item in the list and set the Altitude box to 20 or 30 km. Click the Go button and watch the world spin and zoom in to your predefined location. There are many different views for the surface, including satellite imagery. You can change the view by selecting a different icon from the toolbar. To see the three-dimensional surface, click the NASA LandSat7 (NLT LandSat7 Visible Color) icon, put your cursor in the middle of the WorldWind window, right-click and drag down towards the bottom of the screen. By default, the elevations are exaggerated. Press the number 1 to set the elevations to their actual scale. You can right-click and drag left or right to rotate around Mount St. Helens.
Click Help -> Key Chart for more information on how to navigate WorldWind.
The programmers who wrote the WorldWind project were recently interviewed by the .NET Rocks! Internet radio show. You can listen to the show here: http://www.dotnetrocks.com/default.aspx?showID=103
Google Maps is a browser-based service, like other online mapping services, and requires no download. Maps provides information about the United States, from state boundaries down to street names. Google recently added satellite imagery that shows detail such as buildings. The view can be toggled between maps and satellite images by clicking the Map - Satellite links at the top-right corner of the page. Sharing and printing a map is simple: find the location that you would like to print or share, and click the Print or Email links on the right-hand side of the page.
Maps is great for finding a particular address, or driving directions from one location to another. It's also easy to navigate. Simply click and drag the map to view nearby locations, and drag the slider bar up and down to zoom in and out.
Conclusion: These two applications are not in direct competition with each other. WorldWind provides a view of the entire planet, but not street names or driving directions. It allows you to see satellite imagery of nearly ay location. Maps provides street maps of the United States with searchable addresses and driving directions. The best thing about both of these applications is that they are free to use.
Requirements:
Links:
WorldWind is a downloadable application that allows you to spin the Earth in three dimensions and zoom in on any location to see detail such as streets and buildings. It uses satellite imagery from NASA. It is a large download (over 180 MB), and requires a fast computer and a high-speed Internet connection. It downloads large amounts of data as you zoom in and out (click Ctrl-H to see the current download activity).
Another great feature is its ability to tilt or angle the camera and display 3D graphics of the surface, so you can fly above the Grand Canyon and past Mount St. Helens as if you were playing an airplane simulation game.
WorldWind also provides the ability to quickly find a city or location. To find a particular location, click the Find icon (the fourth icon from the left, the magnifying glass). Type in a location (for example: saint helens, mount), and click the Search button. WorldWind will display a list of possible locations in the Results window. If the correct location appears in the window, click the item in the list and set the Altitude box to 20 or 30 km. Click the Go button and watch the world spin and zoom in to your predefined location. There are many different views for the surface, including satellite imagery. You can change the view by selecting a different icon from the toolbar. To see the three-dimensional surface, click the NASA LandSat7 (NLT LandSat7 Visible Color) icon, put your cursor in the middle of the WorldWind window, right-click and drag down towards the bottom of the screen. By default, the elevations are exaggerated. Press the number 1 to set the elevations to their actual scale. You can right-click and drag left or right to rotate around Mount St. Helens.
Click Help -> Key Chart for more information on how to navigate WorldWind.
The programmers who wrote the WorldWind project were recently interviewed by the .NET Rocks! Internet radio show. You can listen to the show here: http://www.dotnetrocks.com/default.aspx?showID=103
Google Maps is a browser-based service, like other online mapping services, and requires no download. Maps provides information about the United States, from state boundaries down to street names. Google recently added satellite imagery that shows detail such as buildings. The view can be toggled between maps and satellite images by clicking the Map - Satellite links at the top-right corner of the page. Sharing and printing a map is simple: find the location that you would like to print or share, and click the Print or Email links on the right-hand side of the page.
Maps is great for finding a particular address, or driving directions from one location to another. It's also easy to navigate. Simply click and drag the map to view nearby locations, and drag the slider bar up and down to zoom in and out.
Conclusion: These two applications are not in direct competition with each other. WorldWind provides a view of the entire planet, but not street names or driving directions. It allows you to see satellite imagery of nearly ay location. Maps provides street maps of the United States with searchable addresses and driving directions. The best thing about both of these applications is that they are free to use.
Requirements:
- WorldWind: See the Requirements section at http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/download.html. The requirements listed at the NASA website are for optimal performance, WorldWind will run on slower computers, but you will see some noticeable delays while the screen is rendered. It runs ok on an older Windows XP desktop computer of mine. The high-speed Internet connection is required, though, because of the large amounts of data that is automatically downloaded as you move over the surface of the planet.
- Google Maps: Requires a modern browser such as Internet Explorer 6 or Mozilla Firefox. See http://www.google.com/help/faq_maps.html#browser for a more detailed list.
Links:
- .NET Rocks!: http://www.dotnetrocks.com/default.aspx?showID=103
- NASA WorldWind: http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov
- Google Maps: http://maps.google.com
posted by Kevin at
4/10/2005 11:54:00 PM
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