Using World Wind
What is it?
NASA World Wind is a very useful software that shows a 3D interactive globe on the computer screen. While the software is on your desktop, earth images are taken by satellite. The satellite photography provides high resolution quality images of Earth. The images also come from other sources which can be downloaded on demand. Hence, an internet connection is a must to make full utilization of NASA World Wind.
Why will I ever need NASA World Wind?
This is a silly question. NASA World Wind is useful in a variety of ways. With the help of NASA World Wind, you are able to view static as well as archived images of Earth. Practically speaking you can see any location of planet Earth at different levels of resolution and zoom. In NASA World Wind, some images are black and white while some are color. Some images are only topographic maps. By using World Wind's resources and features, you can learn many geography locations along with interactive visuals.
Where can I buy NASA World Wind?
There is no need to buy NASA World Wind. You can download it for free from the website world.arc.NASA.gov. The install file of version 1.3 is around 58 megabytes in size. Once it is downloaded to your machine all that is required to install the software is to run EXE file and follow on screen instructions. Take default settings and all components of the software should install properly. Sometimes it is possible that install process can reveal, that you require the recent version of “Direct X” software. Once you decide to update or install Direct X software, installation process is automatic.
Once installed, the application will guide you automatically through set up process when you run the software for the first time. Take default settings and you can use NASA World Wind.
The software is indeed a great educational tool, however it uses bandwidth for loading the images. Hence, it is recommended that you should not use it unnecessarily. For most commands and moves within the software, use of mouse is sufficient. In other words, it is very easy to operate the software. You can also use the keyboard if you want to control the software using key presses.
To start moving, try clicking, moving, dragging the mouse. By using the wheel of the mouse, you can zoom in and out. If your mouse does not have a wheel, no need to worry. You can hold right and left mouse buttons down simultaneously (at the same time) then move the mouse up or down. You can do single left clicking to move to a particular location. The arrows keys on the keyboard can also be used instead of the mouse. To rotate try mouse actions such as right-drag-clicking and then move the mouse. This will spin the view around. You can also make use of S, A, D, W keys on keyboard instead of mouse. Many prefer to use mouse instead of keyboard to operate the software.
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