Google Moon Debuts 462
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.'"
Conspiracy! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Conspiracy! (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
It's True! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:It's True! (Score:3, Funny)
Goatse (Score:4, Funny)
But don't zoom in!
Re:Conspiracy! (Score:2)
Re:Conspiracy! (Score:2)
TANSTAAFL!
Re:Conspiracy! (Score:2)
Of course, this same friend is also a cheese lover, so maybe I will still send it to her
Google technology, silly. (Score:2)
Re:Conspiracy! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Conspiracy! (Score:5, Funny)
There aren't any (Score:2)
Re:Conspiracy! (Score:2, Informative)
This link [space.com] seems to provide some information on a probe that the ESA launched. Unfortunately, the images from the flybys have not been released. From linked article of why hubble cannot view the landers - "Anything left on the Moon cannot be resolved in any Hubble image," According to the Space Telescope Science Institute, which operates Hubble for NASA. "
Re:Conspiracy! (Score:5, Informative)
Exploring the Apollo Landing Sites [swri.edu]
lets you click thru pictures to zoom in farther and farther, using pics from earth- and orbit-based telescopes, as well as photos from the orbiters and command modules.
some are good enough resolution that you can see the lander, albeit barely. you can see the rover tracks in all of them though.
Re:Conspiracy! (Score:4, Funny)
You'd think they would've at least been smart enough to scatter the tracks with a broom so those in the tin-foil hat mafia with nice telescopes wouldn't be able to unravel the mystery so easily.
Re:Conspiracy! (Score:2)
The later apollo missions landed with pinpoint accuracy and the Command Module Pilots were able to see the landers from space so there would be pictures of them somewhere one would think.
Re:Conspiracy! (Score:3, Interesting)
So unless you have the cash to move one of those secret spy satellites from earth or lunar orbit (Because they are too far away if left in earth orbit), the only way you're going to see them is to go land on the moon again.
=Smidge=
Re:Conspiracy! (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Conspiracy! (Score:2)
It's all a cover-up, I tell you! Everybody knows the moon is made of green cheese!
Awesome... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Awesome... (Score:2)
Next time read the FAQ [google.com] first, please:
Re:Awesome... (Score:2)
HaHa (Score:5, Informative)
Example 1:
From their FAQ [google.com]:
4. Is Google Moon a result of your Copernicus initiative?
Glad you asked, and yes, the development of our lunar hosting and research center [google.com] 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.
Re:HaHa (Score:5, Interesting)
Well, The Register [theregister.co.uk] says they don't have a sense of humour...
Mars Imagery (Score:2, Informative)
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.
Indeterminant cheese (Score:2)
Re:Indeterminant cheese (Score:2)
Re:HaHa (Score:5, Funny)
I emailed lunarjobs@google.com about their available positions. It seems everyone else got to them first ^_^
"From: lunarjobs@google.com
Thank you for contacting Google about our Copernicus Research Center.
We've received an overwhelming response to this opportunity and are not
currently accepting additional resumes. We will, however, keep your
information on file should we have an opening in the future. At the
current staffing levels, we anticipate that we may need additional
applicants on or around April Fool's Day in 2104. Until then, we
appreciate your interest in Google and your taking the time to write us.
Sincerely,
The Googlunar Recruiting Team"
Swiss? (Score:2, Redundant)
The rumours are true! (Score:2)
Obligatory joke coming.. (Score:5, Funny)
I, for one, welcome our new Moon overlords.
Re:Obligatory joke coming.. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Obligatory joke coming.. (Score:3, Funny)
"That's no moon, that's a search engine!"
Is everybody happy now?
Re:Obligatory joke coming.. (Score:2, Redundant)
on the moon, the new Overlords welcome you!
That's not a moon!... (Score:2)
Now we can all see the studio. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Now we can all see the studio. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Now we can all see the studio. (Score:5, Funny)
<moviemaker> Sir, to realisticly fake this moonlanding, we need special gravity conditions.
<superior> Like what?
<moviemaker> Well, the best place to film it would be.. on.. you know, the moon.
<superior> We can arrange that.
Just shows that the real money is in movie-making.
Re:Now we can all see the studio. (Score:2)
Falsified (Score:5, Funny)
You bastards, you've slashdotted GOOGLE! (Score:5, Funny)
Cool (Score:3, Interesting)
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?
Re:Cool (Score:3, Insightful)
That's pretty stupid. Sounds like a new urban legend. Pedophiles don't need to look at satelite imagery to find victims. If the resolution is limited, it's more likely for general privacy reasons.
Quite likely, they want to limit the size of the images they store, so they don't use the highest possible resolution.
Urban Legends (Score:5, Informative)
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.
No (Score:2)
My parents live in Scottsdale and you can clearly see the fire pit in their back yard and, specifically to your comment, the playground thing in their neighbors.
Re:No (Score:3, Interesting)
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 [google.com]. I assume this is due to photographs being taken from different perspectives.
Re:Cool (Score:2)
Re:Cool (Score:5, Informative)
Link here.... http://news.com.com/Quote+of+the+day+Cant+see+you
Text: Quote of the day: 'Can't see your swing set' Published: May 19, 2005, 12:00 PM PDT By CNET News.com Staff
Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, in defending his company's privacy policies at a symposium Thursday, said the detail on the new map-linked satellite imagery is deliberately limited. "We cannot see your swing set, and we're not trying to," he said, adding that Google has complied with government agency requests to blank out areas of its satellite maps. "The value of more information so overwhelms its misuse that we've not had material problems there."
Re:Cool (Score:2)
He did say "swing set"; you made up the "paedophile" part.
So when's Mars coming up? (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:So when's Mars coming up? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:So when's Mars coming up? (Score:2)
Re:So when's Mars coming up? (Score:2)
Mars is right here (Score:5, Informative)
Try this-- it's open source, Linux and windows compatible, does need Java Web Start
Mars MOLA Viewer [antlersoft.com]Re:So when's Mars coming up? (Score:2)
The disclaimer tells you why (Score:2)
Whichever federal agency produced them had included a generic boilerplate stamp near the legend, to the effect that the maps weren't to be relied on for navigation purposes.
Re:So when's Mars coming up? (Score:2)
go get google earth plus, and when you login it has an option to check out mars.
something is missing (Score:4, Funny)
haha (Score:3, Funny)
Juvenile humor (Score:2)
I was expecting to be able to browse some of the great Clementine or Apollo-era lunar images. I got juvenile humor instead. Is this the best those geniouses at google can do?
Re:Juvenile humor (Score:2, Funny)
april fools in july (Score:2)
Lunokhod Soviet moon robots? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Lunokhod Soviet moon robots? (Score:2, Interesting)
I wonder if the Google Maps API works on Google Moon. Maybe someone else can make a page which adds them.
There's always next year... (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Lunokhod Soviet moon robots? (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm usually the first to accuse Americans of not caring about the world outside the US borders, but since they are commemorating the first man on the moon, it stands to reason that they only mark the manned moon missions.
The moon is a sea urchin! (Score:2)
Imagine what it must have been like, aeons ago, when it was still alive and covered with spines.
Clickable image map of lunar landing sites (Score:5, Informative)
Here is a GPL PowerMap. (Score:5, Interesting)
One of our members has created this:
http://hobbiton.thisside.net/advmap_moon.html [thisside.net]
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.
Family (Score:2)
Google Moon CONTEST ! Find the face (Score:2)
Re:Google Moon CONTEST ! Find the face (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Google Moon CONTEST ! Find the face (Score:2)
Hmm... (Score:2, Funny)
"Interesting" places to look at: 6
Boring places to look at: 6,000,000
Re:Hmm... (Score:2)
Missing something... (Score:2)
Enough of the conspiracy shit (Score:5, Insightful)
If you honestly think the moon landings were faked, you are mentally handicapped.
What? No Wallace and Grommit landing site? (Score:4, Funny)
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
No Starbucks nearby? (Score:5, Funny)
And I thought they were everywhere.
Chip H.
Just need Google Not-Earth (Score:2)
Curiout minds want to know - I could sure do with some extra terrestrial google touring. [googletouring.com]
There's a HUGE load of further potentials with mapping - after all, it's just another type of search (plus travel planning opportunities).
Argh (Score:2)
A few missing pieces though - please locate the "man on the moon" and I'd like to see where the cow jumps over the moon. Plus, it would be nice if someone could build a hack to show current real estate prices on the moon.
Now, if they could only integrate it with Google Earth...
Re:Argh (Score:2)
1. Phone NASA. Their phone number is (731) 483-3111. Explain that it's very important that you get away as soon as possible.
2. If they do not cooperate, phone any friend you may have in the White House (202) 456-1414 to have a word on your behalf with the guys at NASA.
3. If you don't have any friends at the White House, phone the Kremlin (ask the overseas operator for 0107-095-295-9051). They don't have any friends there either (at least, none to speak of), but they
Eggs (Score:2)
The Moon is really made (Score:2, Funny)
Need some wine and crackers to go with that.
So Close and yet so far. (Score:4, Interesting)
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.
It's as though a million (Score:2)
Mars? GPL, Mars in 3D from your browser here (Score:2)
The Mars Orbiter Laser Alitimeter experiment carried on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft produced a topographic map of the entire surface of Mars. The data for this map is available on the Internet. The Mars MOLA Viewer [antlersoft.com] will download this data for you and render it as a 3-D landscape which you can "fly" through in real-time.
It's open source (GPL), and will launch from your browser (with Java Web Start).
waaaaait a minute... (Score:2)
I like google, but not THAT much that I won't go and watch the moon with a telescope with my own eyes in the middle of the night.
I mean, come on, they're doing this, and now lots of people won't bother taking a look in a telescope to try and locate the landing sites...
Google Moon took all the fun away...
We should rename Google Moon to "Google fun-robber".
My God (Score:3, Funny)
Googling the moon is fine (Score:4, Funny)
Fourmilab has been doing this for years (Score:4, Informative)
One error (Score:3, Interesting)
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.
Re:Planets (Score:2)
Helloooo?
Re:Planets (Score:2)
Re:Planets (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Wow... (Score:2)
<sniff><sniff>
Wait...
Tim
Re:The end of Google is near (Score:2)
Re:The moon?? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:The Secret the Government Doesn't Want You to K (Score:2)
The Government is spending billions to conquer and protect its monopoly on cheese!
Take that, France!