Swastika Navy Building via Google Earth

by Neil Woodburn on

Google Earth has changed the way we go about observing our world.

Occasionally the satellite photos reveal some very cool new areas to explore. Other times they reveal oddities not visible from the ground.

This was the recent case with the Naval Base Coronado near San Diego, California. The building, constructed in 1967, happens to be in the exact shape of a swastika. Navy officials admitted to having discovered this many years ago but since there is a no-fly zone above the navel base, they figured no one would see it.

Well, the eagle eyes of Google Earth miss nothing. The naval base has become a favorite virtual destination for Google Earth fanatics, who are always seeking out bizarre sights buried in the reams of footage.

And now that the secret is out, the Navy has announced that they will be spending $600,000 to alter the shape of the building into something less offensive, like a square, for example.

Google Earth Arrives in Russia: Detailed Satellite Imagery of Secret Soviet Cities now Available

by Neil Woodburn on

In their most paranoid state, the Soviets outlawed detailed maps of their country during the Cold War. As if this wasn’t bad enough, the maps that they did produce for Soviet citizens were purposely wrong–entire cities were often left off the map or strategically relocated in the interests of national security.

The Cold War has been over for a long time now and the Soviet Union no longer exists. The law prohibiting maps with “precise geographical data,” however, has remained on the books–that is, until last May when legislature finally removed this antiquated law and opened the door for Google Earth Russia to make its official, legal entrance onto internet servers throughout Russia.

Now every comrade in Russia can zoom right in all those weapons and nuclear “secret cities” which never officially existed, such as the nuclear warhead facilities at Penza-19.

Naturally, someone has already created a Google Earth mash-up of secret cities throughout Russia–some of which still remain closed to outsiders. Click here and pretend you’re a CIA analyst trying to make sense of the mysterious sheds and facilities viewed from outer space. Hey, is that an ICBM?!?!?

Very cool! I could spend all day doing this.

Listen to the World with Google Earth

by Justin Glow on

Following the Where 2.0 conference (bringing together “the people, projects, and issues building the new technological foundations and creating value in the location industry”) on May 29th, an enhancement to Google Earth will be available for download which enables binary sound files to be linked to geo-coordinates within the program. This means that along with all of the other cool features Google Earth offers, you’ll be able to hear what a place sounds like — from “the cracking of glaciers to midnight in the jungle.”

The sound files will be provided by Wild Sanctuary, a company whose “worldwide collection represents over 3,500 hours of wild soundscapes and nearly 15,000 species.” Hopefully future versions of Google Earth will allow user-submitted sounds, or integration with other GeoTag-supported sound file websites like Freesound. While we’re at it, allow video too!

(Thanks, Mike!)

Trackstick II & Google Earth: Plot Your Travels Precisely, Follow Your Ex Surreptitiously

by Willy Volk on

Designed specifically for integration with Google Earth, Trackstick II is a GPS device that lets you “keep a satellite scrapbook of all your travels and record your explorations.” With Trackstick II, anglers can mark bountiful catch-spots. Campers can remember how to reach hidden gems. Globe-trekkers can let friends and family follow them as they wander through, for example, Amsterdam’s Red Light District. Um, on second thought…

Powered by 2 AAA batteries, the unit’s 1Mb flash memory can log months of travel histories. Later, Trackstick II’s data can be downloaded to your (Windows-only) computer via USB and viewed on Google Earth’s 3D model of the planet.

Google Earth Store sells the units for $169. However, if you’re creepy, you might want to think about upgrading to the Super Trackstick. With its magnetic mount, you can surreptitiously attach it to that hot barrista’s Vespa and find out what she does when she’s not making your foam froth.

Planning a Trip Using Google Books

by Willy Volk on

Google Book Search has begun to animate the information found in books by organizing the locations mentioned in them on Google Maps. Complemented by snippets of text from the book, Book Search links to the actual pages where the locations are mentioned. For example, in David Foster Wallace’s excellent Girl With Curious Hair you can see that he seems to have fondness for the South and the East coast. Obviously, if you wanted to arrange a road trip to coincide with a favorite book, this would be an excellent way to do it. Travel tip: consider Around the World in 80 Days.

Matthew Gray is a software engineer for Google, and he recently developed a nifty little mash-up, showing the Earth viewed from books, where individual mentions of locations in books combine to yield an interpretation of the globe. The intensity of each pixel is proportional to the number of times the location at a given set of coordinates is mentioned across all the books in Book Search. If you wanted to plan a trip off the beaten path — or, in this case, off the typed word — just check out the map below. The lighter the map, the fewer words have been written about the place.

[Via GoogleMapsMania and The Map Room]