earth

Released today, the newest version of Google Earth for Android and iOS adds a long-awaited feature that should make the mobile mapping experience more like that on the desktop: KML file support.

KML, or Keynote Markup Language, is a file format used to display geographic data in the Google Earth browser. The format can be used by anyone to create and distribute custom map overlays on the Web.

With the new addition, you can now, from your Android device, iPad, or iPhone, click on any Google Earth file from around the Web to display custom elements like place marks, image … Read more

Xearth is a definite blast from the past, and it shows; the program's origins date back more than 20 years, and not a lot has changed since then. But Xearth still functions as a really cool desktop background that shows the Earth's rotation in real time. There are probably similar programs that are much more sophisticated, but if you want to kick it old-school, Xearth is a fun and interesting choice.

Upon installation, the program filled our desktop with a spherical view of the Earth against a starry black background. The default view showed the part of the … Read more

A massive solar storm is hurtling toward Earth, threatening to disrupt communications, GPS, power grids, and airline flights.

A solar flare last night (see video below) created a coronal mass ejection, or the release of a burst of charged particles, from the sun's atmosphere. The storm--the largest in five years--is expected to rain a torrent of charged particles on the Earth early tomorrow morning, mostly in northern areas, according to forecasters at the federal government's Space Weather Prediction Center.

The storm, which has produced a radiation event that rated an S3, or strong, designation on the NOAA's … Read more

I'm hoping the whole celebrity-branded headphone shtick will soon run its course, but I have to admit Monster's new Earth Wind & Fire Gratitude in-ear headphones are pretty spectacular.

Earth, Wind & Fire was one of the most popular funk bands of the 1970s, so naturally they were primed to attach their name to a headphone. That's fine, but I have to judge a headphone on its build and sound quality, and the Gratitude is a very decent headphone indeed. The heavy gold accents on the earpieces were a little gaudy for my taste, but that's … Read more

Astronomers are finding lots of exoplanets that are orbiting stars like the sun, significantly raising the odds that we will find a similar world. But if we do, the chance that the surface of that planet will look like ours is very small, thanks to an unlikely culprit: plants.

We all know how Earth's landscape came about, right? Oceans and land masses formed, mountains rose, and precipitation washed over its surface; rivers weathered bare rock to create soil and plants took root. Well, new research indicates that the last stage of this scenario is not right. Vascular plants--those with … Read more

Google has released Google Earth 6.2 to smooth over earlier versions' unsightly patchwork caused by stitching together widely varying satellite photographs.

The result is a more realistic and less distracting (though still optimistically cloudless) view of the planet. Update: It turns out that by turning on the weather layer, you can dispel Google Earth's sunny optimism and see if it's really cloudy by showing live weather data.

Google Earth offers a terrific interactive view of the planet, complete with 3D buildings in some parts of the world. But I have to say, though, that I was more … Read more

HoudahGeo is an all-in-one app for geocoding and geotagging your photos, so you can keep track of where they were taken and upload them to sites like Google Earth and Flickr.

HoudahGeo provides a variety of ways to link your photos to geographic locations (using exportable EXIF, XMP, or IPTC tags), whether you're using a GPS track-logging device or you're entering locations manually, with coordinates, a built-in map, or Google Earth. You can even just take occasional, lower-quality reference photos (for example, with your iPhone 3G), and HoudahGeo will automatically geocode photos taken with your higher-res camera later … Read more

As you read this, four wave-propelled robots are making their way across the Pacific Ocean in a record-setting journey that will hopefully lead to new scientific discoveries. But they need your help.

With the support of Virgin Oceanic and Google Earth, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company Liquid Robotics launched four of its Wave Glider ocean robots on November 17 to embark on a PacX (as in Pacific crossing) expedition, where they are expected to collect 2.25 million pieces of data about the ocean. The Wave Gliders feature a wing system that uses wave motion to propel the robots, while solar panels power the various sensors used to collect data. … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Four robots left the Golden Gate today on an across the globe mission to set a world distance record and demonstrate new data-gathering tools that could help save the planet.

The robots, known as Wave Gliders, were built by a Silicon Valley startup known as Liquid Robotics. And starting today, the four autonomous sea-faring craft are heading out on journeys to Australia and Japan with the intention of setting the Guinness World Record for the longest distance traveled on the surface of the Earth by a robot.

The four Wave Gliders are thought to be capable of traveling across … Read more