Steve’s Blog

Please be aware that images of Antarctica are currently only available in Google Earth so the Google Maps links below will not work. To view the sights in this post you will have to View in Google Earth.

Although Antarctica’s official population is zero, there is usually between 1,000 to 4,000 people living and working on the mostly uninhabitable continent.

These people are representatives of the 30 countries which operate year-round or summer research stations at various locations, many of which are now viewable in Google Earth. Today we’re going to look at a few of these stations.

Russia’s Mirny station was established during the 1st Soviet Antarctica Expedition and one of the buildings has CCCP (Russian for USSR) painted on its roof.

Australia’s Casey station is a collection of colourful buildings established in 1959. The headquarters at Casey (known as the “Big Red Shed”) are likely the largest building on Antarctica.

Casey station also has a webcam, and you can see a typical day on Antarctica by watching the fantastic time lapse video of yesterday’s shots.

Antarctica has at least 20 private airports for the coming and going of all the staff, and at the UK’s Rothera Research Station we can see the snow-covered 900m runway.

Wikipedia lists 64 currently active stations, so there’s no doubt much more to be found on Antarctica.

Thanks: bruv, Gearthhacks & Rebay

Categories: Antarctica

View in Google Earth

From Google Sightseeing

Stephen :: Jun.04.2007 :: Google Earth :: No Comments »

North Dumpling Island is a small piece of land just off the coast of Connecticut and the private residence of Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway Personal Transporter.

Like any good inventor it seems Kamen is a wee bit eccentric, having declared the island to be an independent state with its own currency (in increments of Pi) and its own navy, consisting solely of the amphibious vehicle we can see parked beside the north-east building.

Although his independence isn’t officially recognised Kamen even signed a non-aggression pact with then-president George H.W. Bush.

Kamen has also erected a replica of Stonehenge to one corner of his island, where I’m guessing he might drive a Segway around the stones, naked and chanting.

Wikipedia Links: North Dumpling Island & Dean Kamen

Thanks: Pat Trainor

Categories: Islands, Watercraft, Connecticut and Structures

View in Google Earth

From Google Sightseeing

Stephen :: Jun.03.2007 :: Google Earth :: No Comments »

Yet another place to roam around on Google Earth. The “fantastically eerie photo set” is also worth checking out.

Hashima Island, 15 kilometres from Nagasaki, Japan, was once the densest human development on Earth, and today stands completely empty and abandoned.

Mitsubishi bought the island in 1890¹ and began using it as a coal mining facility. When space for the workers began to run out, they built Japan’s first large scale reinforced concrete apartment block on the island in 1916. More concrete tower blocks followed, and by 1959 the population of Hashima reached its peak of 5,259 - an astonishing 1,391 people per 10,000 square metres within the residential district - which is said to be the highest population density ever recorded in the world.

When petroleum began to replace coal here in the 1960s, coal production at Hashima began to decline, and Mitsubishi officially announced the closure of the mine in 1974. Today there is nobody left at all. Protected by a high sea wall, and completely off-limits to the public, the island is now an empty, rotting and collapsing ghost town, as clearly demonstrated in this fantastically eerie photo set².

For more information on this incredible place, here’s a short documentary, an excellent in-depth story and a rather short Wikipedia page.

Thanks to George Mandis, Rob Alexandre and Eric.

---

1. Yes, Mitsubishi has been around that long, but it turns out that name actually refers to a large grouping of independently operated Japanese companies which share the Mitsubishi brand name. ?
2. For anyone thinking this place would make a great level for a computer game… it just happens somebody already did it. ?

From Google Sightseeing

Stephen :: Apr.15.2007 :: Google Earth :: No Comments »

There’s a common belief, at least in the U.S., that if you were to dig a hole deep enough (assuming the technology existed), eventually you’d pop out on the other side of the earth, and this would be somewhere in China. This belief might be true…

…if you were to start your hole in Argentina.

Here’s a Google Maps tool that shows you exactly where you’d end up. Consult this before you start digging, or you may wind up at the bottom of the Indian Ocean -Link.

From MAKE Magainze

Stephen :: Mar.20.2007 :: Google Earth, Interesting :: No Comments »

Boing boing have recently featured stories about people who refuse to sell their homes to developers, no matter what the price.

This first house in Bismark was once part of a residential area, but as the nearby St. Alexius Medical Centre expanded they needed more and more parking space and bought up the land of all the adjacent houses. With the exception of one.

The house and its garden space are now directly opposite the emergency room so the owner must be either deaf or he really likes the sound of ambulance sirens.

Our second homeowner in San Jose refused to sell up to the developers of the nearby HP Pavilion indoor arena so is now completely surrounded by parking. I wonder if he gets free tickets on gamedays?

Previously on Google Sightseeing: The Man Who Lives in the Middle of the M62.

Thanks Boing boing and its readers.

Categories: California and North Dakota

View in Google Earth

From Google Sightseeing

Stephen :: Mar.19.2007 :: Google Earth :: No Comments »

Always something strange to see on Google Earth…

Initially we thought this was possibly the coolest find ever, but sadly this is not 9 small planes flying in formation over Denmark. No, even better than that, when you look closer it becomes obvious that someone has taken a single plane, and has been cloning it in Photoshop!

This is of course a complete scandal… I mean, it’s all very well blurring out Government buildings, which is just hiding the truth… but this? This is out and out fantasy! Where will it all end? (Probably Alien Civilizations and UFOs no doubt…)

The company that provides this particular aerial image is called Scankort, but as yet we’ve been unable to prove whether the image was manipulated by them, or by Google themselves. However, there is one other possibility… No, I’m not talking about aliens, I’m talking about BBC 2!

They get everywhere those little 2s…

Via gearthhacks and virtualglobetrotting.

Categories: Weirdness, Aircraft and Denmark

View in Google Earth

From Google Sightseeing

Stephen :: Mar.19.2007 :: Google Earth :: No Comments »

The GCensus web utility lets you download and overlay census information on top of Google Earth maps.

Just choose your data source (GCensus only maps population characteristics like race and age, but more info like income are likely to come), pick your location, download the .KML file, and dive in, you data junkie. Unfortunately GCensus currently only has information for California, Oregon, and Pennsylvania, so in the meantime, others might want to check out previously mentioned Social Explorer. In time and with a bit more data, GCensus looks like a potentially excellent research tool. And, of course, it’s fun. — Adam Pash

GCensus [Stanford.edu]

Stephen :: Mar.19.2007 :: Google Earth, Interesting :: No Comments »

Weather junkies, your site has come in. Weather Bonk gives you not only the local forecast, but also traffic webcams, monthly averages and live conditions overlaid on a Google map.

Just type in your ZIP code or city name to see the weather for your area. You can interact with the map as you normally would, zooming and panning and switching between various views (like satellite and hybrid). Click any forecast or webcam to see more detail in a pop-up window. You can also input a route and see what weather you’ll encounter along the way–great for wintertime road trips. — Rick Broida

Weather Bonk [via Google Operating System]

From Lifehacker

Stephen :: Dec.19.2006 :: Google Earth, Websites :: No Comments »

Compare 8 different online mapping services with Flash Earth.

Included here are maps from Google, Yahoo, Ask, MSN, NASA, and OpenLayers. The well-designed interface allows you to easily switch between services; you can sample each one’s particular representation of satellite and aerial imagery and see if it works for you. This is a great way to compare maps quickly. — Wendy Boswell

Flash Earth

From Lifehacker

Stephen :: Dec.16.2006 :: Google Earth, Websites :: No Comments »

Pictures of Maho Beach on the Dutch Antilles island of St Maarten have been cropping up on the net for years - usually with people claiming them to be the result of a photoshopping competition.

You see, the island is so small that the main runway is right next to Maho beach and jumbo jets have to fly in very low over the beach to make sure they can stop before the end. This results in holidaymakers having huge airliners just metres over their sunbathing - here’s a bunch of such pictures, none of which are photoshopped.

A lot of plane buffs also hang out on the beach and there’s good videos on YouTube of many planes landing and the beach being blown away as a plane takes off.

View in Google Maps | More photos at Airliners.net

Stephen :: Dec.14.2006 :: Google Earth :: No Comments »