Bhuvan, the Indian version of Google Earth

People can now view sharper pictures of any part of the world on their computer using satellite images with ISRO on Thursday unveiling 'Bhuvan', its version of Google Earth.

Minister of State in the PMO Prithviraj Chavan launched the beta version of the geoportal www.bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in at a day-long workshop of the Astronautical Society of India on '21st Century Challenges in Space - Indian Context."

The web-based tool allows users to have a closer look at any part of the subcontinent barring sensitive locations such as army and nuclear installations.

The degree of resolution showcased is based on points of interest and popularity, but most of the Indian terrain is covered up to at least six metres of resolution with the least spatial resolution being 55 metres, an ISRO official said.

Bhuvan uses images taken at least a year ago by ISRO's seven remote sensing satellites, including Cartosat-1 and Cartosat-2. These eyes in the sky can capture images of objects as small as a car on the road to build three-dimensional map of the world.

The pictures are expected to be sharper than those on Google Earth as Bhuvan uses 10-metre resolution images as against 200-metre resolution photos offered by others.

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