Is NASA World Wind a spin off from Google Earth?

Filed in archive Programming on August 29, 2007

Some may feel that NASA World Wind is a clone of Google Earth but this is certainly not the case. Let's check out some of the differences between the software:

World Wind from NASA is open source software which lets one zoom from satellite altitude into any place on Earth and watch images which are in visually rich 3D form. With the combination of Landsat 7 imagery with SRTM data one can literally watch images of Earth at eye level. On the other hand Google Earth is a virtual globe program which maps the earth on the basis of superimposition of images obtained from satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS 3D globe.

World Wind is not just limited to planet earth but even can be used for viewing moon, planets and hop around the universe. On the other hand Google Earth enables to watch different facets of Earth but now in its latest version Sky tool has been added for viewing astronomical images and stars.

In the case of World Wind the component can be incorporated into the application for bringing together data with other companies. For e.g. World Wind can be used for creating flight simulators. The pictures are pretty clear in the case of World Wind where one can see realistic lighting by the sun and offers a view of scientific occurrence. Overall Google Earth offers better picture clarity.

One problem faced in case of World Wind is that it takes longer time to load as compared to Google Earth therefore one should act with patience in case of World Wind.

Google Earth is fit for home users whereas World Wind is more suited for people having a scientific bent of mind.