Google Earth

The Landsat satellite program has been snapping images from space since 1972, giving our earthbound eyes a macro perspective of what's happening all around the globe. The Google Earth Engine is now compiling 30 years of incredible satellite imagery into one interactive time-lapse that reveals dramatic urbanization, deforestation, and global change.

And, well, since this is the Internet, those time-lapses are also available as Google-powered GIFs.

Each view is built from millions of 1.7-Terapixel images (that's a trillion pixels and over 909 terabytes of data, guys) at 30-meter resolution. One frame reflects an entire year's worth of Landsat data from the archives, and choosing which images to use in the time-lapses was no easy task. The project — which was a collaboration between the US Geological Survey, NASA, and TIME — required sifting through more than two million images to find pictures without clouds.

Once the images were compiled, the CREATE lab at Carnegie Mellon University turned the views of the retreat of Alaska's Columbia Glacier, the urbanization of Las Vegas, the deforestation of the Amazon, and more into zoomable, browsable animations built for the web. You, of course, get to enjoy the fruits of their labor and watch the planet change right before your eyes. Compare and contrast these phenomenal pictures of Earth through time, then find out more about NASA's ongoing Landsat mission to send more Earth-observing satellites into space.

Google Earth just took a vintage turn; thanks to the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, you can now compare the streets of the present to what made up blocks of the past. See how quaint Manhattan used to be or city streets before they got clogged with traffic.

With over 120 maps from 1680 to 1930 of the world's most well-known cities overlaid on Google Earth, you can see exactly how urban your city has become.

The maps are also historical eye-candy. Many are hand drawn with pen and ink, so not only are you exploring a map, but also a piece of art. Just one of the many reasons this site now has a place on our bookmarks bar.

Source: rumsey.geogarage.com

Set your alarms, party people: there's a total eclipse happening tomorrow morning. The eclipse will start at 4:45 a.m. PST Saturday morning, Dec. 10, with the full shadow of the Earth being cast on the moon by 6:05 a.m. The Western US will have the best view of the last total lunar eclipse we'll see until 2014. The moon will turn red "with a hint of turquoise," which is perfect for the holiday season. This being Winter and all, there's a good chance your city could be covered in clouds, which puts a damper on your eclipse excitement. But don't worry, these two apps and sites can help you watch, no matter if you're in the middle of a storm or out of viewing range.

SkySafari 3
An app for your iPhone, SkySafari 3 is free through this weekend in honor of the eclipse. This app lets you see the lunar eclipse as it's happening, right on your phone. But after the eclipse is over, you'll be able to explore the night sky and see accurate star maps wherever you are.

Slooh and Google Earth
Astronomy site Slooh has partnered up with Google Earth to bring you live views of space, including the moon. To access the feed, click on the "planets" icon in the Google Earth toolbar to switch to Sky mode. Then, in the layers panel, open the Current Sky Events folder and click on the Slooh Space Camera layer. You can also embed a live feed widget on your blog or website so your visitors can enjoy the view from wherever they are in the world.

Basketball fans, take note! Whether you're planning to watch some March Madness basketball games either on cable or without a TV, you can familiarize yourself with all 14 arenas in the tournament this year before tip-off. Thanks to Google's college basketball tournament map, providing 3D details of each arena. Take a tour of each venue via a video on Google's blog, or download the tour and view it in Google Earth.

In addition to the tour, Google also created a dedicated site to keep track of the tournament locations, game times, and news. There's even a tournament bracket template available in Google Docs.

Game on!

Quick — who was our 27th president, and where was he born? If you don't know, Google has the answer, easily packaged in its new US Presidents Showcase, a feature of Google Earth.

Just in time to celebrate Presidents' Day, the Showcase maps where all of our fearless leaders were born, plus details facts about their terms. And since it's part of Google Earth, you know you're in for lots of zooming and learning as you take a historical tour of our country.

The plug-in breaks up the list of 44 by time periods and allows you to tour each president's details by pressing play, back, or forward. States' names are shown as they were added to the union, so you can impress your friends and show your patriotism with important geographical and historical knowledge (like, "Taft. Ohio. Joined 1803").

Google Earth 5 was released in September, but Google Earth 6 has already hit the deck, and it includes some amazing new functions. The latest version is characterized by two new features: integrated street view and 3D trees.

The new street view builds on the 2008 integration of Google Maps, allowing you to "fly" from outer space directly to your doorstep, corner, or any other location in one seamless flight. The familiar orange Pegman also shows up in the latest version; drag the icon onto any street to quickly zoom into that location, just like you do in Google Maps. You can even "walk" down the street using your mouse's scroll wheel, a feature exclusive to Google Earth.

Find out about the second awesome feature, 3D Trees, after the break.

Google Earth has allowed you to explore the oceans, watch the sunrise, and even track Santa Claus's yearly flight, and now it has a new look.

Google Earth 5, available for download now, includes photos, videos, tours, and maps, all wrapped up in a brand-new site. According to Google, the new Google Earth has five main areas of improvement; find out what they are after the break.

• Google Earth lets you map the Gulf Coast oil spill over any city — Gizmodo
• Can too many Facebook friends ruin your social life? — Lemondrop
• iPhone chalkboard lets you jot down analog notes for later — Unplggd
• Remember Pogs? Oh yes, you do — Urlesque
• Get a look at some clever office workspaces — Lifehacker
• Fact: Americans spent $25.3 billion on video games in 2009 — Joystiq

According to Google, over 600 million people have used Google Earth to take a trip around the world from their desktops. Although a virtual vacation is nothing compared to feeling the warm sun on your face while you lounge on a beach in the South of France, I guess it can come close if you don't have any real vacay time saved up.

Yesterday, Google announced another way you can get your world fix. Called Earth View, you can now get access to Google Earth's 3D images right in Google Maps, without having to launch the Google Earth application. Working for your PC and Mac, all you need to do is download the Earth View plugin. Already a fan of Google Earth? Then you should be ready to go just by clicking the "Earth" button on the top right of the map area. Happy (virtual) travels!