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Google Moon Debuts
Ian writes "From the FAQ: 'One small step for Google...
On July 20, 1969, man first landed on the Moon. A few decades later, we're pleased to cut you in on the action. Google Moon is an extension of Google Maps and Google Earth that, courtesy of NASA imagery (thanks, guys!), enables you to surf the Moon's surface and check out the exact spots that the Apollo astronauts made their landings.'"
If you zoom in to maximum resolution, you'll find "proof" we never landed there. ;-)
Now I can find the best route to work. If they get Google Moon Ride Finder up and running I'll be all set.
And who says Google doesn't have a sense of humor?
Example 1:
From their FAQ:
4. Is Google Moon a result of your Copernicus initiative?
Glad you asked, and yes, the development of our lunar hosting and research center continues apace. We usually don't announce future products in advance, but in this case, yes, we can confirm that on July 20th, 2069, in honor of the 100th anniversary of mankind's first manned lunar landing, Google will fully integrate Google Local search capabilities into Google Moon, which will allow our users to quickly find lunar business addresses, numbers and hours of operation, among other valuable forms of Moon-oriented local information.
Example 2:
On moon.google.com, if you zoom all the way in on the moon the imagery changes from satellite shots of the moon to a cheese template. Sense of humor at it's finest.
Looking forward to see what they come with next.
Side note: Does Google still offer satellite imagery of Mars in Google Earth? It was offered when it was Keyhole.
I'm a virgo and on Slashdot. Coincidence? Yes.
Google Overlords: Earth, check. Moon, check.
I, for one, welcome our new Moon overlords.
Since we all know that the moon landings were faked, I'm sure we are all looking forward to seeing the studio on the lunar surface where they filmed it all.
I can't even see Dr. Evil giant "laser" !
\u262D = \u5350
I can't believe you did this!
dot-sig.
Google has a man on the moon as it's cartoon today....
This moon feature is beyond cool- but may be another productivity sapping item for me at work. What I wonder is if we will get full zooming. My understanding is that google maps is purposely limited so people can't "see swingsets" in back yards (i.e. pedophiles).
What will this do to Hoagland's career if they do this for other planets, say Mars? Is Cydonia over?
And All I Ask is a Tall Ship And a Star to Steer Her By
Seriously, with all the imagery Nasa has, Google Mars would be nice too.
i can't get driving directions to those locations
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Hey, the moon IS made of- *by the time this message is posted, 500 other geeks will have beat me to the end of that sentence and have already posted what everyone is going to find out within 30 seconds of looking at the site*
Colin Dean Go a year without DRM
I note that Google have conveniently forgotten to place the Soviet (Russian) Lunokhod moon robots on the map (at Sea of Rains and Le Monnier, Mare Serenitatis).
Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com
Instead of putting down an American flag, they installed a big letter A! I wonder why I can't see it at night?
Zoom on in at http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~durda/Apollo/landing_ sites.html
http://uranus.google.com/
But don't zoom in!
One of our members has created this:
http://hobbiton.thisside.net/advmap_moon.html
Its a take off of google maps, but extends some some functionality into it. It looks really nice. Enjoy!
Stop by #space sometime for a visit.
the face is on the mars...
Red Leader Standing By!
If you pay for Google Earth Plus you can choose the Mars database. If you had a previous subscription to Keyhole, they gave you the Plus version with a one year extension.
help fill in hidden movie endings @ End of the Credits
If you honestly think the moon landings were faked, you are mentally handicapped.
Try this-- it's open source, Linux and windows compatible, does need Java Web Start
Mars MOLA ViewerThe full-zoom view of the Moon is worth the price of admission all by itself. ("That's it Gromit....che..eeese. We'll go somewhere where there's cheese!")
It's too bad that they don't identify all the other historically significant moon landing and lunar event sites -- Wallace and Grommit's landing site from "Grand Day Out" (1991), the big splat from "A Trip To The Moon" (1902), the nuclear explosions opposite Moonbase Alpha (September 13, 1999). Now that I think about it, it's probably only a matter of days before someone makes this as a Google Moon Hack.
-Mark
Amazingly, a local search turns up no Starbucks coffee shops in the area.
And I thought they were everywhere.
Chip H.
They actually mention that in their blog.
Cheese....
Need some wine and crackers to go with that.
"God of Rock, thank you for this chance to kick ass. "
I wish they would have taken this more seriously. The moon actually have a massive number of named points of interest which would be nice to be able to look up.
Personally, I name all of my software projects after features named during the Apollo landing missions. For a second there, I thought I might be able to provide a url in the javadocs to a map of the actual landmark for the team. While not very useful, it certainly would have been educational.
You are checking your backups, aren't you?
It's full of cheese!
"You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
The high resolution images completed missed half of Edinburgh in Scotland, and imaged a large number of fields to the West instead
At least we know which field to use for a picnic.
The most minding bending image I've seen is of Wilshire Blvd in LA, where all the buildings seem to be leaning at different angles. I assume this is due to photographs being taken from different perspectives.
Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
But I absolutely refuse to Google Uranus!
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
That might be true of Jupiter or Saturn, but I'm sure they'll find solid matter on Uranus.
Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
John Walker's wonderful Earth & Moon Viewer has been around for as long as I can remember. See this page for a catalogue of formations, landing sites and other points of interest.
you had me at #!
For thousands of years, people thought the moon was made of cheese.
But then we went there and found out it was made of rock.
We haven't been back since.
Behold the power of Cheese.
You cant zoom in as well, but this is still worth a visit if you interested....
#include bier;
Another urban legend re: Google earth and maps has been circulating recently. Several people have told me that the satellite imagery is intentionally old, because after 9/11 the US gov't passed a law saying no satellite photos newer than 2 years could be provided to the general public.
This is of course hogwash. Google will actually tell you how current their data is (can't remember how to look this up at the moment), and besides, there are MANY instances of pretty new buildings and construction (well under a year old) that show up very clearly.
I've even shown examples of this to people who know full well what date a building/overpass/etc went up, and they still insist on parroting this legend. Urban legends die hard.
Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
That's great and all but, where do i click to get driving directions?
My site lists as many of the impacts and landings as I could find, both Russian and U.S. Despite the good info, its interface kind of sucks, particularly in light of Google's nice one -- looks like it's time to get hacking Google Moon.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."--Feynman
"Imagery ©2005 NASA"?
NASA is part of the US Federal Government, which does not hold copyrights -- its works are in the public domain.
The correct tag would have been "©2005 Google - Imagery courtesy of NASA" or somesuch, but NASA can't hold a copyright.
Other than that, interesting imagery with a good Easter egg.