Now in Google Earth (make sure to download the most recent version) you’ll find a new function allowing you to explore space!! I’m not sure which is more fun, checking out our planet, or navigating through the galaxies of outer space, though whichever you choose give yourself at least a half hour to play… you get pulled in so easily.
Especially once you realize how detail filled Google Sky is, allowing you to zoom into solar systems all over the place…
The technology takes advantage one of the most ambitious astronomical surveys ever taken, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. The SDSS uses a dedicated 2.5m telescope in New Mexico, and with a 120 megapixel camera, it can image 1.5 square degrees of sky at a time (about 8 times the area of the moon).
Once in Google Earth, click on the icon to ‘Switch to Sky’….. you’ll find it towards the top left of the screen……. have fun!!