Skip to main content

How to use Google Earth’s Timelapse feature to view new 3D content

Exploring Timelapse in Google Earth

Google has added more enhancements to its impressive Timelapse feature to show in greater detail than ever how our planet has changed over the last 37 years.

Google launched its Timelapse feature in 2013, though at the time it was in 2D. The latest update adds 3D imagery, with the new content representing the biggest update to Google Earth in four years.

The newly enhanced Timelapse feature reveals dramatic changes in our precious planet, from retreating glaciers and deforestation to eroding coasts and expanding cities.

Watch the emergence of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, and the retreat of the shoreline of Kazakhstan’s Aral Sea, once the world’s fourth-largest inland body of water but now shrinking as the rivers that feed it are diverted for irrigation projects.

You can view some examples of Google Earth’s Timelapse feature in the video at the top of this page, though read on to find out how you can use the tool to explore the content by yourself.

The Timelapse feature uses around four million satellite photos captured since 1984 that have been compiled to create an impressive interactive experience. “Now anyone can watch time unfold and witness nearly four decades of planetary change,” Google Earth’s Rebecca Moore said in a blog post about the update.

She added that creating Timelapse in its latest iteration required “out-of-this-world collaboration” involving NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. government, and the European Union.

How to use Google Earth Timelapse

Go to g.co/Timelapse  and use the search bar to select any location on Earth where you want to see time in motion.

Alternatively, open Google Earth and click on the wheel to find Timelapse in the tool’s storytelling platform, Voyager, to enjoy interactive guided tours.

You can also find more than 800 Timelapse videos in both 2D and 3D for public use at g.co/TimelapseVideos. You can select any video as a ready-to-use MP4 video or simply watch the footage on YouTube.

“From governments and researchers to publishers, teachers, and advocates, we’re excited to see how people will use Timelapse in Google Earth to shine a light on our planet,” Moore said.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Microsoft may fix the most frustrating thing about Windows updates
Windows 11 updates are moving to once a year.

Most Windows users will agree that one of the most annoying things about the operating system is the updates. While Windows Updates are necessary, they often tend to come up at the worst possible time, interrupting work and gaming sessions with persistent reminders that the system needs to reboot. Microsoft might be fixing that problem in the upcoming Windows 11 24H2 build, but it's still too early to bid farewell to those ill-timed reboots.

As spotted in the latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26058, Microsoft is testing "hot patching" for some Windows 11 updates. Hot patching refers to a dynamic method of updating that often doesn't change the software version and may not even need a restart. In the context of Windows 11, it's pretty straightforward -- Windows will install the update, and you won't have to reboot your system.

Read more
Texas airport to get a 420-pound security robot
Knightscope's K5 robot.

San Antonio International Airport in Texas is deploying a 420-pound autonomous robot to bolster its security operations.

The 5-foot-4-inch K5 robot, built by California-based Knightscope, will be rolled out in the next couple of months.

Read more
Intel just boosted gaming performance by up to 155%
A tray of Intel Core Ultra CPUs.

Intel's engineers once again managed to introduce significant improvements in the latest driver update -- but this time, it's not the discrete graphics cards that received a boost. Instead, the recent patch targets integrated Intel Arc GPUs found in Intel Core Ultra processors, which are some of Intel's top CPUs for laptops. This update adds support for a couple of games, but more importantly, it boosts gaming performance by as much as 155%.

For starters, the new 31.0.101.5333 WHQL driver adds support for Last Epoch and Sea of Thieves, more precisely, the DX 12 update. This applies both to the Intel Arc A-series, meaning dedicated GPUs, and to the Core Ultra chips. Next, we have a slew of performance improvements in DX11 games.

Read more