Introducing Sky In Google Earth

New feature in Google Earth enables users to explore space from their computer.

Google has announced the launch of Sky, a new feature that enables users of Google Earth to view the sky as seen from planet Earth.

With Sky, users will be able to float through the skies via Google Earth. This easy-to-use tool enables all Earth users to view and navigate through 100 million individual stars and 200 million galaxies. High resolution imagery and informative overlays create a unique playground for visualizing and learning about space.

To access Sky, users will need only click "Switch to Sky" from the "view" drop-down menu in Google Earth, or click the Sky button on the Google Earth toolbar. The interface and navigation are similar to that of standard Google Earth steering, including dragging, zooming, search, "My Places," and layer selection.

As part of the new feature, Google is introducing seven informative layers that illustrate various celestial bodies and events:

Constellations - From Cassiopeia to Andromeda, the Constellations layer connects the points of constellations through space, labelling each with its given name. Users can learn about the stars that make up their favourite constellations.

Backyard Astronomy - The Backyard Astronomy layer lets users click through a variety of place-marks and information on stars, galaxies, and nebulae visible to the eye, binoculars and small telescopes. This layer is useful for the amateur astronomer who might benefit from a comprehensive, organized way to reference fragments of the night sky.

Hubble Space Telescope Imagery - The HST layer provides the user with over 120 beautiful high-resolution images provided by the Hubble Space Telescope, NASA/ESA's renowned orbiting telescope.

Moon - The Moon layer displays animations of two months of both lunar positions and moon phases.

Planets - The Planets layer exhibits the seven other official planets and their positions in the sky two months into the future.

Users Guide to Galaxies - The Users Guide to Galaxies layer enables users to go on virtual tours through different types of galaxies, from Ursa Minor Dwarf to the Milky Way.

Life of a Star - The Life of a Star layer takes the user on a tour through the different stages of a star's life cycle.

Sky was created by Google's Pittsburgh engineering team by stitching together imagery from numerous scientific third parties including the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), the Digital Sky Survey Consortium (DSSC), CalTech's Palomar Observatory, the United Kingdom Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC), and the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO). The initiative was born out of the University of Washington's participation with the Google Visiting Faculty Program, which makes it possible for leading academic researchers to visit Google with their work for 6-12 month periods.

Lior Ron, Product Manager at Google explains, "We're excited to provide users with rich astronomical imagery and enhanced content that enables them to both learn about what they're seeing and tell their own stories. By working with some of the industry's leading experts, we've been able to transform Google Earth into a virtual telescope."

Dr Francisco Diego, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University College London says, "Just as we are about to celebrate the 400th anniversary of telescope astronomy, this initiative will open a new window for anyone to be able to appreciate, explore and discover our fragile position in this vast and amazing Universe. Google has created an imaginative, powerful and unique tool, using modern technology to help people understand more about science."

"Never before has a roadmap of the entire sky been made so readily available," according to Dr. Carol Christian of STScI, who co-led the organization's Sky team with Dr. Alberto Conti. "Anyone interested in exploring the wonders of our universe can quickly see where the stunning objects photographed by Hubble actually dwell in the heavens. Sky in Google Earth will foster and initiate new understanding of the universe by bringing it to everyone's home computer."

Professor Ian Robson, Director of the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (ATC) says, "The UK ATC has opened up its archives to Sky, providing two decades of images from the UK Schmidt Telescope which was built to survey the skies of the Southern Hemisphere and reveal the stars, constellations and galaxies only visible from there."

The announcement follows July's inclusion of the NASA layer group in Google Earth, showcasing NASA's Earth exploration. The group has three main components, including Astronaut Photography of Earth, Satellite Imagery, and Earth City Lights. Astronaut Photography of Earth showcases photographs of the Earth as seen from space from the early 1960s on, while Satellite Imagery highlights Earth images taken by NASA satellites over the years and Earth City Lights traces well-lit cities across the globe.

To access Sky in Google Earth, users need to download the newest version of Google Earth, available at earth.google.com. The feature will be available on all Google Earth domains, in 13 languages.

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