random.earth
August 29, 2021 12:26 AM Subscribe
"Discover amazing Earth imagery.
"Use the arrows on the sides to browse selected images.
"Click anywhere on the map to zoom in.
"•🔀• Random location (or hit space).
"•📷• Submit a view to the gallery.
"Let's go."
There's a lot of Canada.
posted by chavenet at 3:06 AM on August 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 3:06 AM on August 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
And Russia.
posted by HeroZero at 6:45 AM on August 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by HeroZero at 6:45 AM on August 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
You can view the gallery by clicking the star in upper right. There's keyboard shortcuts: N/B navigates the gallery. Space for a random image.
The random images are far too interesting to be totally random. Among other things, every single image I've seen is land. I wonder what its "interestingness" selection algorithm is.
I'm failing to find who made this. The email address is for a "nick".
posted by Nelson at 7:15 AM on August 29, 2021
The random images are far too interesting to be totally random. Among other things, every single image I've seen is land. I wonder what its "interestingness" selection algorithm is.
I'm failing to find who made this. The email address is for a "nick".
posted by Nelson at 7:15 AM on August 29, 2021
I love the colors and weird landforms you get in harsh desert areas. Saharan Libya, Western Iraq/Jordan.
There is art on the canvas of the geologic past and marks of the human present, like some bizarre fusion of Jackson Pollock and Piet Mondrian in wild not-really-earth tones.
This is as addictive as GeoGuessr...
posted by Xoebe at 8:14 AM on August 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
There is art on the canvas of the geologic past and marks of the human present, like some bizarre fusion of Jackson Pollock and Piet Mondrian in wild not-really-earth tones.
This is as addictive as GeoGuessr...
posted by Xoebe at 8:14 AM on August 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
Where do we go from here? I asked.
Newgrange Passage Tomb / Solstice clock, I replied
It's interesting how far we have come in the last few years. From 2005, UK and Irish folks were encouraged to populate the map with geo-located photos through the Geograph project (which is languishing) only 85% complete for at least one pic per sq.km MetaPrev.
If you go all satellite it scales up but only looks down.
posted by BobTheScientist at 9:10 AM on August 29, 2021
Newgrange Passage Tomb / Solstice clock, I replied
It's interesting how far we have come in the last few years. From 2005, UK and Irish folks were encouraged to populate the map with geo-located photos through the Geograph project (which is languishing) only 85% complete for at least one pic per sq.km MetaPrev.
If you go all satellite it scales up but only looks down.
posted by BobTheScientist at 9:10 AM on August 29, 2021
Is anyone else getting "can't reach this page"?
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:39 AM on August 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:39 AM on August 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
Yeah, for right now (12:45PM EST Sun 2021-08-29) it seems to be unresponsive. I bet a lot of mefites are zombie-ing over their morning coffee and watching random landforms drift by as they wake up.
THAT'S WHAT I WAS HOPING TO DO.
By the way, I learned about this via MapCrunch, which is up and also VERY ADDICTIVE
posted by not_on_display at 9:50 AM on August 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
THAT'S WHAT I WAS HOPING TO DO.
By the way, I learned about this via MapCrunch, which is up and also VERY ADDICTIVE
posted by not_on_display at 9:50 AM on August 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
I went back to it 15 minutes later and it loaded. I was pretty amused when the 3rd or 4th image it showed me was "Greenland", and it was pure white - i.e. no image loaded, but it sort of worked anyway!
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:58 AM on August 29, 2021
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:58 AM on August 29, 2021
Canada’s so random.
posted by Going To Maine at 10:35 AM on August 29, 2021
posted by Going To Maine at 10:35 AM on August 29, 2021
Not loading here.
posted by doctornemo at 10:57 AM on August 29, 2021
posted by doctornemo at 10:57 AM on August 29, 2021
Love this. Our planet is so beautiful (even if it appears to be mostly Canada).
posted by mixedmetaphors at 11:35 AM on August 29, 2021
posted by mixedmetaphors at 11:35 AM on August 29, 2021
I'm curious about this image in Western Australia. I assume it's a watering hole, but does anyone know if it's natural or man-made? Here it is in Google Maps for context.
posted by indexy at 11:44 AM on August 29, 2021
posted by indexy at 11:44 AM on August 29, 2021
I'm curious about this image in Western Australia
Well, from my searching I found that there are a number of gold mines in the area, a number of them dating back to the 1930s, so it could be an abandoned gold mine.
posted by eye of newt at 1:07 PM on August 29, 2021
Well, from my searching I found that there are a number of gold mines in the area, a number of them dating back to the 1930s, so it could be an abandoned gold mine.
posted by eye of newt at 1:07 PM on August 29, 2021
I was today years old when I learned that Nuuk is the capital of Greenland. There's a lot of it on this.
posted by signal at 1:20 PM on August 29, 2021
posted by signal at 1:20 PM on August 29, 2021
I was today years old when I learned that Nuuk is the capital of Greenland. There's a lot of it on this.
I think it labels anything in Greenland as Nuuk. Speaking of which: Ḩ̶̡̘̥̟͗ͅẽ̴̢̺̘͔͐͐ ̷̡̝͉̱̲̲͒̓c̴̡̞̅͜͝ȯ̸̜̟̯͕͈̓͠ṃ̶̘̤̩̓ͅę̷̼͇͍̼͛͌͘̕ş̸̙͙̹̹̘͛̋̕͜
posted by indexy at 1:53 PM on August 29, 2021
I think it labels anything in Greenland as Nuuk. Speaking of which: Ḩ̶̡̘̥̟͗ͅẽ̴̢̺̘͔͐͐ ̷̡̝͉̱̲̲͒̓c̴̡̞̅͜͝ȯ̸̜̟̯͕͈̓͠ṃ̶̘̤̩̓ͅę̷̼͇͍̼͛͌͘̕ş̸̙͙̹̹̘͛̋̕͜
posted by indexy at 1:53 PM on August 29, 2021
I just built something like this for street view.
posted by iamck at 9:03 PM on August 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by iamck at 9:03 PM on August 29, 2021 [1 favorite]
> I just built something like this for street view.
Post it on Metafilter Projects!! (and thanks for posting the Sahel Sounds site!)
posted by not_on_display at 11:30 PM on August 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
Post it on Metafilter Projects!! (and thanks for posting the Sahel Sounds site!)
posted by not_on_display at 11:30 PM on August 29, 2021 [2 favorites]
> Are these mass graves? Homs. Syria I assume.
You are right in assuming it's Homs, Syria. I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that they are mass graves; they look more agrarian or construction-site in nature to me, but I have no idea what for. My assumption is that mass graves would be covered up— if it were mass graves they wouldn't be easy to spot on Google Maps, or we'd probably have heard about people discovering mass graves in this fashion. These are 100-foot-per-side squares, delineated by bulldozed dirt berms.
My guess? Syria's been pretty bombed-out the past ten years, and these are the beginnings of replacement structures, or a site to harvest building materials. To the east, there seem to be more of these being built, along with roofed structures. I'm not gonna google "satellite images of mass graves"—but if I did, I would be surprised if they looked like these.
posted by not_on_display at 7:47 PM on August 30, 2021
You are right in assuming it's Homs, Syria. I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that they are mass graves; they look more agrarian or construction-site in nature to me, but I have no idea what for. My assumption is that mass graves would be covered up— if it were mass graves they wouldn't be easy to spot on Google Maps, or we'd probably have heard about people discovering mass graves in this fashion. These are 100-foot-per-side squares, delineated by bulldozed dirt berms.
My guess? Syria's been pretty bombed-out the past ten years, and these are the beginnings of replacement structures, or a site to harvest building materials. To the east, there seem to be more of these being built, along with roofed structures. I'm not gonna google "satellite images of mass graves"—but if I did, I would be surprised if they looked like these.
posted by not_on_display at 7:47 PM on August 30, 2021
I, for one, welcome our new overlords from the planet Fer.ar.ri
posted by chavenet at 2:54 AM on August 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by chavenet at 2:54 AM on August 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
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