hi all,
if you know how GoogleEarth's sun mode (choose custom: day/night/time/date/day/month/year) works
then you know you get a virtual Earth with the Sun sky position included
e.g. getting a screenshot of the virtual sun rising or moon setting behind your favorite google earth cityscape or landscape is easy (this is not a complicated feat, but rather super fun 'n' easy)
but you know the next most important thing in the sky is the moon itself, which as of 2017 (January)
has not been developed to appear in virtual Google Earth, so similar scenic lunar presence can be captured
like the sun
e.g. getting a screenshot of the virtual moon rising or moon setting behind your favorite google earth cityscape or landscape, is not yet possible, because the virtual google moon isn't in virtual orbit around google earth
if google produces an accurate orbiting moon, one could forecast/plan/visualize lunar eclipses (red), solar eclipses
in context of Earthscapes (where it happens; what it looks like daytime or nighttime, dawn/dusk) against ones favorite virtual google earth 3d landscapes/cityscapes/tourist destinations, etc.
Imagine modelling a lunar eclipse shadow blanketing daytime scenery on Google Earth, at midday, at dawn, or dusk?
imagine just the right kind of moonphase half/quarter crescent rising over the horizon of ones favorite cityscape, tourist scenery, mountain range, valley, river, homestead, etc, etc, etc.
Chris Peats "Heavens Above" is missing 3D virtual Google Earth modeled landscapes (missing Earth itself)
I have mobile apps that serve similar "scheduling" tools, like Star Chart (visualize all celestial objects in 3d orbit relative to each other) and LunaSolCal Mobile (moonphase/rise/set sunrise/set direction/azimuth) vs Google maps (not google earth 3d scenery)
if you don't know, others working on a possibilty may know
my query was not about existing apps which do not do what Google Earth does with the Sun
neither bing nor apple have adequate Earth+Sun in sky modelling, never mind any moon in sky orbit
Google Earth is likely the only app to add an orbiting moon to the already "sky-orbital" sun
i have been waiting many years for the moon to show up in sky orbit on Google Earth when the Sun mode is turned on
in either case, i just want to put it out there, as a big google earth mode development wish
i'm certain many will find the presence of the virtual orbital moon on google earth modelling as useful as having added the sun.
naturalists, photographers, scientists, artists, tourists, planners, trailhikers, survivalists, soldiers, architects, urban planners, etc. would find this very useful, and fun of course
anyone in the community can chime in
the help desk has nothing to do with responding to something not yet done on google earth
(obviously, i'm not talking about the current "moon/mars" overlay over google earth sphere; both are old hat for me)