Google Earth 5.0 takes everyone deep in Oceans and up above to Mars

While most people and Swiss police were busy snooping in other’s backyards and fields, using Google Earth as telescope, Google was busy adding layers of the hydrosphere and new features to the mapping software.

So what has it got for all of us? Now Google Earth users have a chance to “dive into the new Google Earth” as the oceans are now not just the big blue part of the globe with “low-resolution shading to suggest depth”.

One can explore the depth of the water bodies as Google is now presenting a more detailed ocean floor with the help of dozens of ocean scientists and advocates and National Geographic, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the US Navy, Scripps Oceanography, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution amongst many others.

The mapping software will now show historical imagery depicting imagery from the past, from over decades back that show the changes in the landscapes with time. For example, clicking on the clock icon in the Google Earth toolbar while flying south from San Francisco while show the transformation of Silicon Valley from a farming community to what it is now, the tech capital of the world!

Another cool feature is “Touring”. This feature will let users create sharable, narrated, fly-through tour to share the layers they have created with others and guide them through the explorations by simply clicking the record button and putting across directions to the destinations.

Well, well, well, not only Google Earth is giving away a close up of the Earth’s oceans that cover two thirds of the planet, it is also making Mars come close to you. In collaboration with NASA, Google is now offering access to 3D maps of the planet Mars! The maps will consist of high-resolution images of the planet’s terrain in 3D and annotations displaying landing sites amongst other features.