Valles Marineris - NASA's World Wind software

Valles Marineris

Have you had a chance to download and use Google Earth? I've been using it for a while. I copped this picture of the Nebraska State Capitol using Google Earth. You can use your mouse to 'fly' over a 3D world, for the most part in great detail. Very nifty.

One of my favorite niche blogs, Future Feeder, tipped me to a similar piece of software available free from NASA called World Wind. It not only has the Earth, but also the Moon, Mars and more. The overlays or 'layers' offer a wealth of informational views. See the earth in different wavelengths of light, in colors that show crop data, even USGS topo maps. I just downloaded it today, so I have barely scratched the surface.

I was on Mars, zooming over the Valles Marineris this afternoon, taking a break from working outside in the heat, when the image on my screen reminded me of the cracks in my heels. Goes to show how my mind works. Here is a picture I took of my heels today. See the resemblance?