Solar System in Google Earth
Following on from my Google Earth vs moons add-on, here’s another size comparison which includes all the planets too.
I’ve used an image overlay to ‘convert’ Google Earth into the Sun, and arranged 45, scale, 3D models of Solar System bodies next to it. The file can be downloaded here:
Visually, it works better if Google Earth’s atmosphere is switched off (View -> Atmosphere).
The large differences in size make this much harder to navigate than the moons file, but you can fly straight to a particular body by clicking on the appropriate model name or placemark under Places. Also, the glare(!) from the sun overlay can be annoying at times, but this can be toggled off.
As with the moon models the planet textures are based on real imagery, and come from the public domain sources listed below.
- Venus, Jupiter, Saturn - Björn Jónsson
- Neptune, Uranus - NASA/JPL/Hastings-Trew/Thomas
- Mercury, Pluto - NASA/JPL/Seal/Rawlings
- Mars, Earth - USGS
- Jupiter From New Horizons
- Jupiter, Cassini Time-Lapse Movie
- Other Planets
- Martian System in Google Earth
- Real Sized Planets in Google Sky