- Google brings a new update for Google Earth.
- A new time-lapse update is available to visualize the changes on the planet over 37 years.
- New 4K videos from certain locations around the world are now also available on YouTube.
Google is giving Google Earth a new lease of life with its biggest update in around four years. The digital globe surveying app has an extended time-lapse mode. Now users can follow the changes on our planet in nearly four decades.
The feature has been collecting 24 million satellite photos since 1985 and recording them on a 4D globe. The previous update from 2016 only used five million images. This is a real improvement on Google Earth’s time-lapse feature, which was first introduced in 2013.
Users can select specific locations on the planet to view or zoom out completely and watch the world change. Since the time-lapse function also corresponds to the usual mechanisms of Google Earth, you can pan, zoom and search for specific locations around the world.
Changes to the Amazon in Rondônia, Brazil.
Google Earth time-lapse: “Largest video on the planet”
Google Earth has always been a fun way to visualize the world. But the time-lapse relativizes the change that the planet has undergone. The data doesn’t show all bad news either. Some regions are exposed to enormous pressures. But the time lapse also underlines the beauty of our heavenly house.
Google notes that the time-lapse is now “the greatest video on the planet our planet”. Google uploaded around 800 4K clips for those who want to focus on specific regions in even more detail. These can be downloaded or viewed on YouTube in 2D or 3D. It’s best to view these when you have the time – they’re short, but you will lose hours looking at them in a row.
Google plans to update the time-lapse data annually. It promises to add new satellite imagery over the decade.
While you can view the time-lapse in your browser, you can also get the Google Earth app using the buttons below.
Get it on Google Play
Get it from the App Store