The European Space Agency (ESA) has created a special layer of content that will appear in Google Earth, enabling people to see more than 130 new satellite images including natural phenomena and manmade landmarks such as the Palm Islands in Dubai.

The new images can be accessed by clicking on the checkbox of Google Earth’s "Featured Content" sidebar, and then on the ESA icon.

As users explore detailed images of landmarks and changes to the environment, information including facts, figures, scientific explanations and theories will appear underneath the images.

The images in the collection are acquired by ESA’s Envisat, ERS and Proba satellites. Envisat, launched in 2002, acquires data using three imaging sensors: advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASAR), medium resolution imaging spectrometer (MERIS) and advanced along-track scanning radiometer (AATSR).