What is Small Blue Planet?

Small Blue Planet: The Real Picture Atlas is a nicely integrated compilation of Earth-from-space images from many sources, including the CIA, NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This visually stunning CD-ROM is organized around three main images: a global relief map composed of satellite images that colorfully display both oceanic and continental contours; a mosaic relief map of the 48 contiguous United States, dramatically rendered in shades of gray; and a somewhat disappointing political map of the world showing only countries — current as of November 1993 — and national capitals.

You can zoom in on any of the main maps in ever greater detail, or soar across the globe in any direction. In addition. Small Blue Planet pinpoints smaller-scale images with red markers; one click on a marker opens a thumbnail preview, and another click displays the image at full size. While pop-up location identifiers are available in many small-scale images, there is little logic to what is identified — Genoa and Venice, for example, hut not Rome — and some identifiers (such as Kilauea Volcano) arc positioned incorreedy. You can also add your own pop-up annotations to any image. A window containing country-specific data is available in the main political map, and you can obtain information — often either incomplete, too technical, or blatantly promotional — on every image.

A separate part of the program, the Chronosphere, dramatically (and dynamically) illustrates the pattern of day and night on the world relief map. A Gallery section displays thumbnail pictures of all the disc’s images (sorted first by type of remote sensor, then by image title), but inconveniently, no search function is available to quickly locate an image of a given location.

Small Blue Planet is not as comprehensive as a standard reference atlas, and it lacks many atlas features, such as distance scales, a master index, and information to help you interpret map colors or contours. Some small-scale images are not accessible from the most logical main map; for example, you can reach a beautiful mosaic relief image of Italy from the main political map but not from the relief map. Other problems include a manual that’s too brief, some poorly edited text in the program, and a lack of overall online help. But maps and Earth-from-space images are endlessly fascinating, and the contents of Small Blue Planet are no exception.

Eckhardt, Robert C. (July 1994). Small Blue Planet 1.2.1. Macworld. (pg. 93).

Download Small Blue Planet for Mac

Architecture

Motorola 68K

System Requirements

From Mac OS 6.0

Compatibility notes

Minimum Requirements

• 4 MB RAM
• 8-bit color display
• CD-ROM drive
• System 6.0.5

Emulating this? It could probably run under: Basilisk II