The red planet Mars, next after Earth and fourth from the Sun, is perhaps the most mysterious of all the objects in the Solar System. It is easy to distinguish in the night sky by its characteristic reddish tint.
Mars makes one full revolution around the Sun approximately 687 days. And this is not surprising, because they are separated by 230 million kilometers! Days on Mars are only slightly different from those on Earth. There they are 24 hours 39 minutes 35 seconds.
A manned project on the red planet is still in the future, but already in our time, modern rovers have explored every centimeter of its surface, thanks to which there is already a map of Mars - Google Mars.
Another gadget that allows you to view the surface of the planet Mars in high resolution is presented in the window below. Unlike the version presented above, in this interactive window you can very well view the planet from all sides. The best browsers to use are Google Chrome, Firefox and Internet Explorer.
Google Planet Mars
(use your mouse to rotate and zoom in on the planet)
Google gives us the opportunity to see a 3D view of the surface of the red planet.
Not yet reliable information about life on Mars, but there are some sensational facts. Mars has two "Moons" of its own. These are Phobos and Deimos. Our ancestors believed in the negativity that this planet carries, which is why they named it after the god of war, and its satellites - Fear and Terror. This is how the words Phobos and Deimos are translated. Both of these satellites have irregular shape, which is an exception for the Solar System.
Have you ever asked yourself the question: " Why is Mars red?? ". This shade is given to it by iron oxide (i.e., ordinary “rust”) contained in the Martian soil. The highest mountain in Solar System— Olympus, located on Mars. Its height is three times greater than Everest. But all these facts are overshadowed by one thing - there is water on Mars! True, it is there in the form of ice. Scientists have proven that it once flowed freely there in the form of rivers, etc.
The largest canyon in the Solar System is also located on Mars. This is the Valles Marineris. The most main reason The lack of life on Mars is that it has no magnetic field, and therefore no protection from solar radiation and asteroids.
Two thirds of all attempts to explore Mars have failed. This a big problem scientists, because in order to send rovers and orbitals to the planet, you need to spend huge amounts of money. 1 kilogram of material launched there costs approximately 309 thousand dollars! This is a big problem that hinders the exploration of the red planet. Therefore, Mars still remains for us one of the most mysterious objects in the Solar System.
Google Maps is a leader among modern mapping services that provide satellite interactive maps online. At least a leader in the field of satellite imagery and in the number of various additional services and tools (Google Earth, Google Mars, various weather and transport services, one of the most powerful APIs).
In the field of schematic maps, at some point, this leadership “was lost” in favor of Open Street Maps - a unique mapping service in the spirit of Wikipedia, where every volunteer can contribute data to the site.
However, despite this, the popularity of Google Maps remains perhaps one of the highest of all other mapping services. Part of the reason is that Google Maps is where we can find the most detailed satellite photos for the largest regions of any country. Even in Russia such a large and successful company as Yandex cannot surpass the quality and coverage of satellite photographs, at least in its own country.
With Google Maps, anyone can view satellite photos of the Earth for free almost anywhere in the world.
Image quality
The highest resolution images are usually available for the largest cities in the world in America, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Asia, Oceania. Currently, high-quality images are available for cities with a population of more than 1 million inhabitants. For smaller cities and others settlements Satellite images are only available in limited resolution.
Possibilities
Google Maps or “Google Maps” was a real discovery for Internet users and indeed all PC users, giving an unheard of and previously unseen opportunity to look at their home, their village, cottage, lake or river where they vacationed in the summer - from a satellite. To see it from above, from a perspective from which it would be impossible to see it under any other circumstances. The discovery, the very idea of giving people easy access to satellite photos, fits harmoniously into Google's overall vision of “easily providing everyone with access to any information on the planet.”
Google Maps allows you to see from a satellite simultaneously those things and objects that cannot be observed at the same time when observed from the ground. Satellite maps differ from regular maps in that they simple maps colors and natural forms of natural objects are distorted by editorial processing for further publication. However, satellite photographs preserve all the naturalness of nature and the objects being photographed, natural colors, shapes of lakes, rivers, fields and forests.
Looking at the map, one can only guess what is there: a forest, a field or a swamp, while on satellite photography it is immediately clear: objects, usually round or oval in shape, with a unique swamp color, are swamps. The light green spots or areas in the photograph are fields, and the dark green ones are forests. With enough experience in orientation in Google Maps, you can even distinguish whether it is a coniferous forest or a mixed forest: coniferous has a browner tint. Also on the map you can distinguish specific broken lines piercing the forests and fields of the vast Russian expanses - these are railways. Only by looking from a satellite can you understand that railways are much larger highways influence the natural landscape around them. Also in Google Maps, it is possible to overlay maps with the names of regions, roads, settlements on a national scale and the names of streets, house numbers, metro stations on a city scale on a satellite image of an area or city.
Map mode and satellite view mode
In addition to satellite images, it is possible to switch to the “map” mode, in which it is possible to view any territory on the surface of the Earth and study in detail the layout and location of houses of any more or less large city. In the "map" mode it is especially convenient to plan your movements around the city if you have already seen enough satellite views of your city.
The search function by house number will easily point you to the desired house, giving you the opportunity to “look around” the area around this house and how you can drive up/approach it. To search for the required object, just type in Russian in the search bar a query like: “City, street, house number” and the site will display to you the location of the object you are looking for using a special marker.
How to use Google Maps
To begin, open some place.
To move around the map, left-click on the map and drag it in any order. To return to the original position, press the centering button located between the four direction buttons.
To enlarge the map, click on the button "+" or roll the mouse roller when the cursor is over the map. You can also enlarge the map double click mouse in the location you are interested in.
To switch between satellite, mixed (hybrid) and map views, use the corresponding buttons in the upper right corner of the map: Map / Satellite / Hybrid.
Google Maps service (Google Maps) is one of the most powerful mapping services in the world. Its capabilities allow you to enjoy satellite images of the surface of our planet. Still use the opportunities interactive map, it’s easy to get a convenient route from point A to point B, get up-to-date information about traffic jams and much more. At the same time, not all users are fully familiar with the capabilities of this service, which in a certain way prevents its full use. This material is intended to eliminate such “blank spots”; in it I will talk about Google maps, which are available online in real time and in excellent quality, and I will explain in detail how to use their capabilities.
We study the functionality of the online service “Google Maps”
Google Maps is a web service that provides detailed visual information about geographic regions and places around the world. In addition to displaying a conventional road map, the service also offers aerial and satellite imagery of various locations, including images taken using a variety of vehicles.
This is what the Google Maps start screen looks like: Google Map includes several popular services:
- The route planner offers the creation of routes for drivers and pedestrians who want to get from point A to point B;
- The Google Maps API makes it possible to insert maps from Google Maps into various websites;
- Google Street View (Google Street View) allows users to view the streets of various cities around the world, virtually moving through them;
- Google Maps for mobile platforms offers the use of GPS navigation of mobile devices to position the user on the map;
- Ancillary services offer images of the Moon, Mars, clouds, etc. for astronomers and just amateurs.
To start working with Google maps in full screen, launch the service google.ru/maps. A schematic map of the world will open in front of you (depending on the user’s location, usually this is a map of Europe).
Instructions for using Google maps
The Google Maps service interface looks like this:
Additional options in the Menu item
Also in the Google Maps menu bar, which opens by clicking the menu button at the top left, the following useful options are presented:
- « Satellite» - switches to photographic map display mode created using satellite photos. Clicking this option again switches the map back to schematic mode;
- « Traffic jams» — shows current traffic jams in major cities. The color gradation from green to red shows the speed of traffic in the indicated traffic jams;
- « Transport» — allows you to display the movement diagram public transport in the right place;
- « Relief» – will allow you to display the relief of a given area
- « Transfer of geodata» - allows people to track each other's location using Google Maps;
- « My places» — allows you to navigate between places you added in the Google Maps service;
- « Your impressions» - will allow you to add any text impression about any of the places on the map (as well as attach a photo of this place).
Activating Google Maps satellite view
Displaying Google maps using satellite photos is one of the most popular forms of working with the Google Maps service. It allows you to enjoy the view of the desired geographical location, created using satellite images, as well as images from special devices operating at bird's eye height (from 240 to 460 meters).
The resulting photographs are regularly updated (their age is no more than 3 years). They enable each user to enjoy a satellite view of the desired places, visually plot the most convenient road from one place to another, and so on.
Google Earth - allows you to enjoy high-resolution images
Among the capabilities of the Google Maps service is the Google Earth service. In addition to the technology of the already well-known satellite mapping of the surface of the globe, Google Earth allows you to view 3D images of many colorful places, while photos of some famous tourist sites have the highest resolution.
A special feature of this service is also two, in our opinion, main functions:
Conclusion
The Google Maps service allows you to view satellite maps in real time for free, and use various forms of navigation to plot a user-friendly route. At the same time, Google Maps' competitors - Yandex.Maps, Bing Maps, Apple Maps and other analogs are generally inferior to Google maps both in coverage area and in general functionality. Therefore, we recommend using Google maps to search and visually view the geographic location you need.
Google Maps finds the information you need. With them you will never miss the point.
Keep moving. In any situation
May there be no obstacles on your path. Google Maps monitors traffic conditions in real time and also reminds you if you need to change lanes.
Forget about traffic jams
Google Maps monitors traffic conditions in real time and always suggests the best route.
Stay one step ahead
Don't want to miss that treacherous convention again? Google Maps can help you! Just enable turn-by-turn navigation and lane selection.
Move with ease
Google Maps constantly checks your route against current traffic conditions and adjusts it based on traffic conditions.
Make yourself at home. Everywhere
There are many in the world interesting places. And some of them are at arm's length. Let's imagine that you are going to have a snack. Using Google Maps, you can easily find out what restaurants are nearby, you can choose the one that suits you, then look inside and even make a reservation. Yes, yes, it's simple!
Can't decide where to go today? Reviews and photos of other users will help you make a decision. Would you like to tell us about your favorite place?
.
Walls are not a hindrance
Find out what the place you're going to looks like before you get there. Building Layouts and Street View will help you with this.
The world as you have never seen it before
Imagine that a map is not just a plan of the area. It will take you on a walk on the Moon or on a trip to Mars, help you see the Earth from a bird's eye view, climb the highest mountain, go down to the lowlands and just look around carefully.
Travel to the stars Walk along the Milky Way, explore the expanses of Mars and visit the Moon. Spaceship
? You won't need it.
Visit all the cities of the world
Turn on Satellite or Street View mode and stroll the sidewalks of your favorite cities (and the cities you've only dreamed of).
Thanks to the Art Project service, you can look into the Palace of Versailles at any time, wander around White House or explore the collection of the Tokyo National Museum. And this is just the beginning!
Customize Maps to your liking
Sign in to your Google account and set up Maps the way you want. You can then save your home and work addresses, track places you've reviewed, and quickly navigate to your recent searches.
Share your knowledge
Tell the world about the places you know best. Just create your own map and share it with users!
Give your fingers a rest
Save your home and work addresses in Google Maps so you don't have to re-enter them. In addition, you can give Maps access to your contact list on your mobile device - this will significantly speed up the search.
Tell us about your impressions
Leave a review about the places you've visited: tell us why some are good and others are bad, and at the same time add a photo. The cards will remember all your actions.
Next year, the Google Maps project will celebrate a milestone anniversary - a decade since its creation, and it has a lot to be proud of. Over the course of its decade, it has acquired all sorts of services, APIs, and has become commercially successful and popular all over the world.
As for the mobile version for Android, it became available to users simultaneously with the official release of this operating system in 2008, and her work was demonstrated to journalists long before this event. Since then, the functionality of Maps has been constantly expanded, and the application itself has been continuously improved. New countries “obeyed” him, where dozens and hundreds of detailed city maps, street photographs, StreetView mode, satellite and aerial photography, routes using public transport and auto navigation appeared. We will place the main emphasis on the last function in our review, focusing mainly on its applicability in Russia.
Pricing and licensing policy
The application is free for the end user. Only the use of API maps for commercial purposes is paid (not in all cases). There are also traffic limits when using the API, and if you exceed them, you will be charged a fee.
System requirements
There are versions for all Android operating systems, but OS versions 4.0 and later are recommended.
Functionality
Main functions of the application Google Maps 7.7.0 reflected in our traditional table:
| Interface | |
| Manual map zoom during navigation | Yes |
| Battery/satellite/GSM indicators | OS status line |
| Changing the map orientation | Yes |
| Manual map rotation | Yes |
| Mileage information | No |
| Satellite View Screen | No |
| 3D mode | Yes |
| Map tilt | Yes |
| Quick Access Toolbar | No |
| "Trip computer" | No |
| Night mode | Yes |
| Augmented Reality | No |
| Search | |
| Universal | Yes |
| Address | No |
| By coordinates | yes (via Google) |
| POI around / at the point / at the finish | Yes Yes Yes |
| Voice input | Yes |
| Working with routes | |
| Save / load / forward | no no no |
| Simulation of driving along the route | No |
| Full display | Yes |
| Working with tracks | No |
| Operating modes: passenger car / truck / pedestrian / public transport | yes / no / yes / yes |
| Cards | |
| Map update | online |
| Ability to download and use offline | yes, separate areas* |
| Card supplier | own |
| Installing third-party and free maps | No |
| Editing maps | only error messages |
| Online services | |
| Traffic display | Yes |
| Dynamic POIs | from Waze |
| Friends on the map | No |
| Thematic news feeds | No |
| Photo on the map | only for POI |
| Overview photos of streets (Streetview) | Yes |
| Weather | No |
| Ban on Internet access | No |
* the function is declared and described in the help section, and was also present in previous versions of the application, but starting from 7.6.x it was not possible to find it and use it
Interface
The application interface is simple, beautiful and practical at the same time. In a sense, it can also be called spartan: there are a minimum of controls on the screen and a minimum of details on the map. The outlines of buildings appear only very on a large scale, there is no clutter of POI icons when scrolling the map.
Newfangled 3D is present, and many buildings have not only the appropriate height, but also full-fledged 3D models. To evaluate it, you need to tilt the map by swiping two fingers from bottom to top of the screen.
The main menu is also ascetic to the extreme.
And the settings section is almost empty.
It is also very nice that even on low-power single-core systems the application runs very quickly. Scrolling through the map is easy and virtually lag-free.
Brief summary
Liked: asceticism, simplicity, fast and smooth operation.
Did not like: -
Search and work with the map
Who would doubt that apart from a universal search bar, the application does not provide anything else. It is simple and convenient, in addition, it has voice input implemented by built-in OS tools. But the latter is a little hard of hearing. Yandex's recognition is much better.
Of course, the search bar has a subscript that shows the most likely (or popular) options as you type a word or phrase. However, it often contains phrases of 8-10 words. It’s hard to say where they come from.
Text search also has its own “hearing loss”. Although there are no special problems with the buildings, buildings and letters of houses (but sometimes misfires still happen, so you are always waiting for a catch), the system is already confused with possessions. For example, you won’t be able to find “Bulatnikovskaya possession 2” on a map in Moscow, where the Lukoil gas station is located, even if you write “Bulatnikovskaya vl2d” in the line, as it appears in the signature on the map itself, or “Bulatnikovskaya, 2 - D”, as this is indicated in the information about the gas station on the map, or “Bulatnikovskaya, possession 2D”, as it is written in the information about the building, if you just click on it on the map. Confused? Google is also confused. It’s hard for him in Russia. But further - more. If you type “Bulatnikovskaya 4 k2” in the search, the application will start giving you Bolotnikovskaya Street, located in another district of Moscow, where there are houses with similar numbers:
A similar problem occurs when searching for some other streets.
There is also a problem with POI. Do you need to find an OBI store near the Teply Stan metro station? By Google versions, he moved to the city of Vidnoye:
Of course, we specifically gave out a selection of crazy things (not all, we save your time). Therefore, we will add that in general the search is not as bad as we described it, but it is also not as good and convenient as that of Yandex.Navigator. When searching for POIs in Google Maps, you come across a lot of garbage, errors, and sometimes there is no information about large shopping stores and centers. But it also has a big plus: user ratings and reviews tied to POI objects. And also photographs.
Of course, you can also leave your review, rating or photo if you want.
Another positive point is that by pointing to any place on the map, you can get the necessary information on it (telephone, website, etc.), including the above-mentioned photographs, reviews and ratings.
Also via viewing additional information You can switch to the Streetview mode.
If you notice an error on the map, you can report it to the developers in a couple of clicks.
And I would like to wish this approach to everyone. True, we still haven’t received any response to our couple of significant comments a week later.
Brief summary
Liked: the presence of a universal search bar, reviews and ratings, the Streetview function, the ability to report an error.
Did not like: from the search you always expect misinformation, average performance of the speech recognition function, errors and garbage in the POI database, unmoderated reviews and the absence of a word filter, crooked interlinear.
Relevance of maps
Traditionally, we make an assessment at this point by studying those places on the map that have recently changed and are well known to the author of this article. And this is the second time in our practice, after a detailed study of the six most popular navigation applications for Android, when we see a map of Moscow in a relatively neglected state. Many new roads and junctions are either completely absent or drawn incorrectly. For example, the interchange between Podolskiy cadets street and the Moscow Ring Road contains only a turning overpass over the Moscow Ring Road, which in fact does not exist. That is, who and from what hangover drew this denouement is a mystery. Just in case, here is a screenshot of this disgrace in comparison with Yandex.Navigator:
But this outcome is most clearly depicted on Yandex.Maps:
Similar problems were noticed on Profsoyuznaya, Yaroslavka and other highways.
The situation is aggravated by the fact that the multi-level interchanges are not displayed in accordance with which road surface is higher (which, logically, should be drawn on top), but is sometimes chaotic and unpredictable.
There is also a problem with addresses. Some of the new buildings that were put into operation 4-5 years ago are not on the map at all. The other part is present in the form of flat contours without addresses.
In general, this is all strange.
Routes and navigation
The application immediately informs you that the auto navigation function is in beta.
And we completely agree with this. The developers still have some work to do here, although, in general, everything functions relatively well. But let's take things in order.
I was very pleased that several routes were built at once, and the user was then given a choice, which indicated the distance and time of travel for each of them, taking into account road congestion. All routes can be simultaneously displayed on the map and compared visually.
Of course, more than one route will only be built when it makes sense.
The routes themselves are quite adequate, and there are no particular complaints about them. At the time of construction, you can set three parameters, the most relevant of which is the exclusion of toll roads.
The navigation process is quite typical. The application shows the distance to the nearest maneuver and its direction, and promptly warns about all this by voice. The route itself is easy to read on the map, and all maneuvers on it are displayed with white arrows, which is very convenient. Also, traffic jams are visible on the route line when viewing it.
When leaving the route, the application uses the “detour” logic and does not play on your nerves with continuous requests to turn around at the first opportunity.
But this is where the “honey” ends and the “fly in the ointment” begins. Firstly, there is no display or warning about cameras, as well as about speed limits on the current section of the route. And although the vast majority of drivers have already trained not to exceed the speed by more than 20 km/h, it still happens that they think or miss a sign, and a navigator would be a good helper here.
Secondly, there is no way to install DPOI - at least, we have not been able to figure out how this can be done. However, DPOIs installed in the Waze app, which Google recently acquired, are also displayed on Google Maps (not in all regions), evidence of which can be seen on maps in other countries.
There are also DPOIs where there is no note that they were placed by Waze users. In general, we do not yet have a normal answer to this question.
Traffic jams in Moscow are also not all smooth sailing. After several days of driving, I got the impression that Yandex has much more up-to-date information, although it is also not without fault.
Brief summary
Liked: adequate routes, convenient choice of route options.
Did not like: no camera warnings, no display of speed limits, no DPOI, not entirely adequate traffic data.
All sorts of "goodies"
Historically, in terms of navigation, the application was more focused on walking, traveling by public transport, and searching for various POIs. And this is his strength. It will not only build a route, but also guide you along it. The bus will tell you in advance which stop you should get off at and where to go to transfer to another type of transport, if necessary. Suburban trains have not been forgotten, and routes are built taking into account their schedule.
The situation with walking routes is a little worse. Google doesn't have enough data on pedestrian crossings above railways and highways.
And if navigation on public transport in Moscow works quite well and, by the way, also offers several route options, which is very convenient, then the diagrams of public places for Russia (stations, airports, shopping centers etc.) - still exotic. There are about three dozen of them in Moscow and St. Petersburg. It is difficult to find them in popular foreign countries, but, as they say, the worst is the beginning.
Testing
Installation
Installation problems will arise for devices that have a regional connection to China. For them, “Maps” are not displayed on Google Play at all. Trying to find a distribution on the Internet may take some time, since distributions are different for different platforms and OS versions. But if your device is not a “purebred Chinese”, then, most likely, “Maps” are already pre-installed in it.
Route planning time
Since routing also happens on a remote server, a lot will depend on the speed of your current connection. With good communication, the typical time for constructing two or three route options of any distance takes 1-3 seconds.
Recycling system resources
On entry-level single-core systems, the application loads in 2-4 seconds. During the route guidance, the utilization of the SoC computing core fluctuates at the level of 50-70%. When scrolling the map and changing the scale, it tends to the 90% mark, but all actions occur quite smoothly. On the one hand, it’s not bad, but on the other, it could be better, since the graphics are very simple, and the detail of the map is extremely low up to the largest scales.
The space in the internal memory is used very sparingly. After a week of travel, studying maps of Moscow and the region, some cities in Russia, as well as some other countries, the map cache took up approximately 65 MB. And it is located here: /mnt/sdcard/Android/data/com.google.android.apps.maps/cache/.
Network traffic volume per trip
During Moscow traffic jams, 5-6 MB/hour accumulates if the map cache was empty before, and you used the search and scrolling of the map at different scales along the route.
conclusions
Currently using Google apps Maps as a car navigator in Russia looks like a somewhat dubious idea. There is a lately updated map with a capricious and demanding system for entering addresses, a littered POI database with errors and unmoderated comments, and a lack of warnings about cameras and speed limits. (By the way, Yandex.Navigator also does not inform about the speed limit, but warns about cameras when it has already “spotted” you.) And all sorts of other minor flaws. As a result, if you choose the lesser of two free “evils”, then it is Yandex. Although there will probably be certain regions where some part of the map will be drawn better by Google, and here everyone decides for themselves.
So, what's good about Google Maps? They will definitely be useful for foreign trips. Also, many should appreciate the construction of routes using public transport and guidance along them. Let's add reviews and ratings of POIs and street panoramas here! So Google Maps, of course, will not be superfluous.
