![]() ![]() If you are intrigued by the idea of using this technology to simulate your own genealogical time travel experience, watch my free video called Google Earth for Genealogy. (If you have World War II veterans in your family tree, this is a feature you’ll want to explore.) It can only be a matter of time before this same Historical Imagery comes to Google Earth’s Street View. Black and white aerial imagery of war torn areas are plainly visible. But in some key areas, such as London and parts of Europe, the slider goes back to the World War II era. Click the Historical Imagery icon in Google Earth’s toolbar and a time slider indicating the years available will appear.įor most areas of the world this spans about as long as satellite imagery has been around. Next to the icon a date now appears indicating the earliest available imagery. You may have already noticed that as you zoom in closer to street level in Google Earth a small clock icon appears at the bottom of the screen indicating historical satellite imagery is available. While this feature has just rolled out in Google Maps, and is not yet available in our beloved Google Earth, I predict this omission will not last long. Imagine what historical street view imagery will look like in 10, 25, or 50 years from now!Īfter Looking Back in Time, I Offer This Prediction for the Future 7 years in and they can now begin to offer this collection of older imagery in a meaningful way. ![]() It offers a glimpse into the future.Ĭonsider this: Google has been amassing incredible amounts of data over its short life including satellite and street view imagery. And while I still think that those techniques deliver more relevant results for genealogists, this new Street View time travel in Google Maps is exciting in its own way. In that video we explore some incredibly powerful ways to travel back through our ancestor’s lives and times. If you’re a Genealogy Gems Premium Member then chances are you made a bee-line for the Time Travel with Google Earth premium video as soon as you joined. Members Have Been Time Traveling for a While Now When you have millions of users it can take a while to roll out upgrades. But in some locations which have undergone substantial change in that short time period (such as viewing the reconstruction after the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Onagawa, Japan) the results are riveting.ĭon’t worry if you don’t see Google Maps Street View Historical Imagery feature yet. In many cases, there’s nothing earth shattering to see. The ability to time travel is high on most family historians list, and Street View imagery for Google Maps desktop provides a taste of that prize.Īccording to Google’s blog post today they have “gathered historical imagery from past Street View collections dating back to 2007 to create this digital time capsule of the world.” Here’s an example of viewing Gettysburg with the new feature. It clearly indicates different data bases that they are accessing.Google Maps Street View was given an edge today over Google Earth’s street view when Google launched a “time travel” upgrade. ![]() Sometimes the images match, and sometimes they do not. It has always been my experience that is the case - even with older Windows Mobile smartphones, and with a Blackberry. Sometimes it shows a construction site in that location.īut at this very moment, I am looking at two different maps. Sometimes, I see the local Whole Food built about 4 years ago up the street from me. They might be taken in the middle of the summer on two separate days - they could be taken years apart. I don't know which is newer, which is older - my pool cover is on in one photo, my pool cover is off in the other photo. I can tell you, at this very moment, I am looking at my house online on Google maps, and on my iPhone, and they are different images. It depends on what servers Google is routing your through, where you live, what satellite towers your picking up, what towers you are connecting to, etc. ![]()
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