Google has announced its biggest update to Google Earth since 2017, introducing a timelapse feature to the popular virtual globe-trotting software. Google Earth has long been an effective way to get a fairly updated glimpse at any one location in the world, but Google has taken that concept and expanded it by now offering the ability to display how these locations have changed over time.
Google Earth dates back nearly two decades to its initial release in 2001. For years, it has been a source for users to view any spot on the planet from the comfort of their own computer, offering different perspectives ranging from its Street View feature to an assortment of maps and terrains. Google has also constantly tinkered with Earth and its capabilities, even recently unveiling the ability for users to virtually tunnel to the opposite end of the planet.
The latest Google Earth feature is called Timelapse in Google Earth. According to the blog post, the feature relies on 24 million satellite photos that have been captured over the last 37 years to allow users to access the Timelapse page and see any spot on the planet progress over time. Google also has interactive guided tours available through its Voyager storytelling platform, in addition to more than 800 Timelapse videos readily available to view.
Timelapse's Potential To Showcase A Changing Planet
As noted in the blog post, the creation of Google Earth's Timelapse feature exposed some inescapable trends about the planet from the last four decades. The team at Google labeled them as forest change, urban growth, warming temperatures, sources of energy, and fragile beauty. When able to see phenomena like the rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier on the south coast of Alaska, these trends become increasingly apparent. The point is, Timelapse has potential beyond serving as a neat way for users to check out how their hometown has changed over the past few decades. With the millions of images (and hours) that Google has put into this program, Timelapse is living, breathing proof of the real, quantifiable changes that Earth has experienced over the last 40 years.
Timelapse is described as a tool for education, and potentially a way to inspire action. Used appropriately, that's exactly the kind of powerful potential it has, considering it is somewhat difficult to watch the planet's changing landscapes over just 40 years and deny how the Earth's climate is also drastically changing. Overall, Google's Timelapse is a way for anyone to see how the planet they live on is being impacted, and could even encourage some to try and do something about it.
Source: Google