Google Earth is a free application that can be downloaded from the internet to your computer. Once installed, it allows you to navigate the Earth and explore the things you find of interest. The visual data comes from satellite imagery and aerial photographs taken by planes.

When you open Google Earth it connects to Google’s servers giving you access to geographical data – so you need an internet connection to use it. Once connected you simply type in a location and click search – Google Earth will then fly to that location. For instance: “Parkes NSW Australia” will fly you over Parkes.

Google Earth has some really out of this world features that are both entertaining and educational. On the left hand side of the screen (toward the bottom) you will notice the heading: Layers. By turning these on and off you give Google Earth functionality.

My favourite Layer is Street View – this puts lots of little cameras on the screen which, when double clicked, zoom in to the ground and allow you to have a look around. If you zoom in on Clarinda Street you can see the cars and people going about their daily business; although how the little man didn’t get run over I’ll never know.

The ways in which Google Earth can be used are gargantuan – the ability to print, save or email the maps and images make the possibilities endless. It’s a good way to familiarise yourself or others with a specific location; get directions; search for a business; gather data for a project; collect pictures for a presentation; or simply sightsee (obviously not as good as the real thing but an alternative for those of us who are money deficient).

Some worry that Google Earth allows others to watch them – this is just another fallacy associated with technology. The images used by Google Earth aren’t in real-time and can be up to three years old; hence the different colour terrain. At the moment Google Earth shows Parkes as a brown desert but we all know it’s currently green; providing a welcome change from the brown I’ll never get used to.