Google Earth comes loaded with plenty of cool features, including a time-lapse tool that can show you how our planet has changed.
Alphabet’s Google Earth is one of the handiest tools to exist in our time.
The service uses satellite imaging to let you explore all corners of the world – some in 3D – from your computer.
And as of last April, users can now access a clever time-lapse feature that shows how their neighborhood has changed over the last 37 years.
Googler sourced more than 24 million satellite photos taken over four decades for the tool.
This feature aims to show “not just problems but also solutions,” per a Google blog post.
Rebecca Moore, the director of Google Earth, further noted that the Google Earth’s time-lapse tool can also display “mesmerizingly beautiful natural phenomena that unfold over decades”.
The tech giant has plans to add new images to the project continuously over the next decade.
Google is working closely with NASA, the US Geological Survey’s Landsat program, and the European Union’s Copernicus program on the project.
Meanwhile, the time-lapse feature is being powered by Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab.
How to view a time-lapse of your hometown
First, go to your browser, then follow this link: g.co/Timelapse.
Next, head to the “Search the planet” search bar and enter any place on Earth.
Once you select an address, Google Earth will pull it up and begin showing the time-lapse.
The time-lapse map will appear on the left, and the search bar will be to the right.
Users can use the plus and minus buttons to zoom in and out, respectively.
You can also play or pause the time-lapse using the settings above the search bar.
This story originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced here with permission.
