The Virtual Globe screensaver for Windows displays a detailed relief map of the world showing the current areas of day and night.

Two display options are available:

1. Globe
2. Map (Mercator projection)

The display is updated every five minutes to keep pace with the Earth's rotation.  A settings dialog allows the user to adjust the display to suit the monitor and geographic location.

Installation is an easy three-step process:

1. Click here to download the VirtualGlobeSaver.zip file (1.44 megabytes).
   
   
2. Use WinZip to extract the VirtualGlobe.scr file and place it in the windows\system directory.
   
   
3. Use the Display Properties dialog to select the Virtual Globe screensaver and adjust its settings.

For the day and night areas to be drawn properly, the date, time, and time zone must be set accurately in the Windows Clock Properties.  You can verify these settings by double-clicking on the clock in the taskbar.

If your home city is not listed in the setttings dialog, you can either pick a nearby city, or you can enter the latitude and longitude of your city directly into the fields provided.  If you supply your own latitude and longitude, don't forget to check the appropriate North/South and East/West indicators.  The city you pick does not control how the shadow is drawn on the display; it only affects how the display is centered.

This screensaver is based on the following two applets. Although the graphics in the applets are not as detailed as those in the screensaver, the idea is similar.

Vglobe applet

SunMap applet