Yes you heard it folks the sun actually rises!  The Guys at Google have added a sun button and when activated you can see a sun in the sky that cast light on the land and even 3D models. A slider appears at the top of the screen that can be positioned anywhere along its 24hour timeline moving the sun to the appropriate position in the sky.

To the right of the slider is a play button which will play through a day at a default or user designated speed. the night sky even plays with stars once the sun has retreated round the other side of the globe.

I have to say it look great and is a very cool new feature although it does unfortunately not create shadows around 3D structures or between mountains. Even Having said this the overall effect is still very good and adds a lot of depth and realism to the environment.

Clouds and Weather

Other notable features are clouds and up to date weather information which not only beautify the globe but also give relevant and highly useful information to the user about what the weather is like, not only where they are but where they want to go as well. I can see this being very handy for the next ski seasons snow report!

 

Wow isn't that pretty!

Here the weather report and forecast over our offices for the next few day. doesn't look nice at all :@(