Google has recently added some new aeriel images to the Google Earth Database, and one of the places that has received significantly better coverage is Portsmouth, UK.

Portsmouth College provide some fantastic (historical and current) aeriel pictures of Portsmouth on their website, so I thought I’d try comparing them to see just how good the rendering in Google Earth really is.

In the example shown here, the photo (on the left) was taken before the construction of the Tipnor Bridge which now carries the M275. The output from Google Earth, shown on the right, is generated using more recent aeriel photography.

Virtual Tour

I’ve bookmarked more than sixty locations around Portsmouth so you can make up your own mind on a virtual tour. If you do not have Google Earth, you can, get it here (Windows only).

If you have Google Earth installed, all you need to do is download this file.

The file contains several placemarks, each of which has an accompanying photo. If you double click on the placemark, the viewing height and angle should be adjusted to the approximate position that the camera was in when the photo was taken, you can then click on the word “photo” in the speech bubble to see the real picture.

Enjoy!