We all know that Google Earth represents some of the best satellite imaging technology available to modern man today–at least to the ordinary modern man today–and can take you places you never even dreamed of seeing and show them to you right on your computer screen.

Well, out in the Pacific Ocean, there’s a gigantic pile of trash swirling around called the Pacific Gyre, and it’s roughly TWICE THE SIZE OF TEXAS.  Now, before you go rushing over to Google Earth to check it out for yourself, you can’t.  And here’s why, from the guys at Google Earth:

Regarding the gyre: the trash gyre presents its own set of challenges. Even if we had satellite imagery, the gyre likely wouldn’t appear in it. Most of the plastic is particulate and/or a bit under the surface so you can’t see it in the imagery. A number of groups are starting to focus on collecting more data about the gyre via expeditions and sampling – we’d love to see one or more of them produce maps that could be viewed in Google Earth.

Whoa.  That’s at once perfectly logical and downright terrifying.  But still, it really does kind of suck that the world’s biggest trash heap is effectively invisible to Google Earth.