Marble 1.2

Marble is a virtual globe and atlas that is supposed to be an educational aid for primary and gymnasium students and all those who need a handy application offering access to all the important data about the world. It is a free and open source application, which promotes the use of the so-called free maps.

What is it exactly? Marble is a versatile virtual atlas, enabling us to view the world map in a variety of ways. The basic way is of course a globe, similar to the one offered by Google Earth. However, apart from this, Marble also enables us to use a wide variety of thematic maps, from a classic topographical map, satellite and schematic maps, to night Earth map and temperature and humidity maps. Thanks to a key that is easy to configure, each of these maps can be modified according to given requirements. There is also a possibility of observing a night sky as well as observing the movements of the so-called sphere of darkness between night and day. The program also offers us a view of the map in flat projection, Mercator or globe. Marble downloads most of its maps directly from the Internet and renders them by means of bitmaps and vector graphics. However, the program can also be used offline.

Its interface is comfortable, transparent and easy to use. It supports Linux, Windows and Mac OS X, and works efficiently even in systems having integrated graphics cards. Also, thanks to its open architecture, the program’s options can be extended by means of appropriate plug-ins.