Fridaygram: underwater views, disappointing squid, space move

SEP 28, 2012
Author Photo
By Scott Knaster, Google Developers Blog Editor

If you’re making a map of the world, you have to pay attention to the large fraction of the planet that’s beneath the water. That’s why Google Maps now includes underwater panoramic images from around the oceans. Naturally, there are a lot of wonderful sights to see, including a sea turtle with a school of fish and an ancient boulder coral. And just for fun, you can watch an underwater hangout from the Great Barrier Reef, without traveling to Australia or getting wet.



We don’t know if Google Maps has yet captured an image of a vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis). But researchers have found that this creature, whose name means "vampire squid from hell", has been more than a little overhyped. The vampire squid doesn’t hunt victims for blood. Instead, it eats random detritus floating around in the ocean. Still: great name!

Finally, the people who operate the International Space Station have a lot to do, such as making sure it doesn’t plow into any space junk. With that excellent goal in mind, NASA was considering moving the ISS this week to avoid an old satellite and a piece of rocket in its path. How do you move the ISS? By firing the engines of a docked cargo ship, of course!


Fridaygram posts are mostly for fun, not necessarily for developer stuff like our posts the rest of the week. This week Google turned 14 years old, and like lots of others its age, Google is already learning how to drive.