Google launches space mapping service

[Dashken]

AN Internet mapping service used by millions every day has been launched into space.

Using free software from Google Earth, amateur stargazers can now bring an astronaut's view of galaxies and planets to their computer screens.

At the click of a button, they will be able to zoom millions of kilometres into space to scan through a 100 million stars and 200 million galaxies as seen from the Earth.

Through the free search engine, they can learn about constellations, the moon, planets and the life of a star by viewing high-resolution images.

These are beamed from a number of sky-mapping organisations including the Hubble space telescope and the UK Astronomy Technology Centre.

The program, called Sky, features the same navigation tools as Google Earth, which uses satellite pictures that zoom to street level.

Each of the images, provided by some of the world's top scientific and academic centres, will be updated regularly so users can continuously monitor stars, galaxies and nebulae.

Eventually, Google hopes that amateur astronomers will be able to post their own images on the site when they have captured something exceptional happening in the heavens.

The program can be downloaded from www.earth.google.com

Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22295547-2,00.html