Google Earth, an already amazing technology, today received a serious upgrade. Once “limited” to contemporary snapshots of the Earth made through a composite of satellite imagery, Google Earth now provides a whole set of overlays that allow you to view the earth’s past as well as its present.
In addition, Google Earth 5.0, the most recent iteration, lets you view under-the-sea terrain and, somewhat mis-nomerically (is there a good word for this?), the surface of Mars. While these new features are somewhat limited at this point (how far back in time you can go depends on your current zoom level, for example), this is an important harbinger of what is to come.
An excellent article describing these important new features, and their significance, with screenshots, can be found here. Google Earth is shaping up to be a very powerful research tool. It has already allowed us to take a tour of Ancient Rome, and with these new tools it promises to continue to grow as a premier research tool.
