Google sky video clip

How to install google sky

Space exploration just got a lot easier for desktop astronomers. Google announced today it now allows you to explore the vast reaches of space through your Web browser using a new Web-based service called Google Sky. Previously, Google offered a similar version of Google Sky that was only accessible using the Google Earth mapping software program. Now to travel to places like the Sombrero Galaxy (see above) all you have to do is launch your Web browser.

Check out PC World's slideshow Most Spectacular Sights in Google Sky.

Getting Started: Ready, Set, Takeoff

Google Sky lets you tour stars and planets just like in Google Maps - you can pan, zoom, and search for anything you are interested. See a planet you want to know more about? Many astronomical objects link to information bubbles that tell you more about what you are looking at as well as offer links to more information on the Web.

Included in Google Sky are layers just as they are available in Google Earth when viewing the heavens in "Sky" mode. Layers are collections of images or data that lay on top of Google Sky. For example Google has included the "Backyard Astronomy," "Historical," and "Hubble Showcase" layers.

(The Historical layer shows you early interpretations of the night sky.)

An Earth & Sky podcast layer will give you an audio explanations on everything from pulsars, the Milky Way galaxy's black hole, and the cosmic origins of copper. Podcasts are from the astronomy radio program Earth & Sky.

Houston, We Have a Problem

Browser access to Google Sky is great. It reduces the barrier of having to download and install software. I applaud Google for doing it. However if you're interested in a more flawless adventure in space stick with accessing Google Sky using the desktop software Google Earth.

In my review of the Web browser version of Google Sky both my Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers crashed when I began to open up browser tabs while viewing Google Sky. Also disappointing was that when I zoomed in on some cosmic objects Google Sky hiccuped and displayed big grey blocks that informed me "No image available at this zoom level. Try zooming out."

Google Sky Brings the Heavens Online

Attention amateur astronomers, your online stargazing options are looking up thanks to Google Sky.

Google has extracted the recently released night sky browser out of Google Earth and released it on the web. While Google Sky is still part of Google Earth, it is also joining Google Moon and Google Mars with its very own URL and new collection of Google Maps-like features.

Google Sky allows you to pan and zoom through the stars just as you would terrestrial maps and even provides URLs for linking directly to deep space objects.

As with the Google Earth component, the online version features a number of image galleries showcasing shots from Hubble and other telescopes. There’s also an option to switch to alternate views like infrared or microwave.

As with all of Google’s map related projects, developers can overlay Google Sky with their own KML files to add extra data and markers.

get "Google Sky" on your Browser

Mar 14, 2008 If Astronomy interests you, you ought to be aware of "Google Sky", an Internet tool for viewing the stars and galaxies. The good news is that enthusiasts will now be able to access this tool through a browser version of "Google Sky".

Prior to this, to access "Sky", users needed to download and install the "Google Earth" application -- the Web-based mapping software. "Google Sky" was introduced as an additional feature to "Google Earth" (version 4.2) in August last year.
In order to make the tool accessible through a browser, developers have only changed the projection to display these images within "Google Maps" (the Mercator projection). The images that will be seen in "Google Sky" on your browser will be the same as those found in 'Sky' in "Google Earth". Though users will not be able to view the Northern and Southern celestial poles.

Through "Google Sky" on browser, users will be able to gallivant around the universe, zoom-in and out of images of celestial bodies, search for planets and galaxies, and view the sky through infrared, x-ray, ultraviolet, and microwave views. An Earth and Sky podcast has also been integrated in the interface.

"Google Sky" will allow users to locate the positions of the planets and constellations, and even watch the birth of distant galaxies as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope, just as in the regular version.

The tool has been created by Google through a partnership with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, the science operations center for Hubble.

And if you're dying to check out the stars, view "Google Sky" here.

View Sky from your browser through google sky

Google Earth is used, for the most part, for looking at the roof of your house and trying to work out when the photo was taken. However, there's no such killer app for Google Sky (with the exception perhaps for Mork, Marvin the Martian and ET) which means you're just going to have to use it for purely scientific purposes. It's that much easier now that you can access it direct from your browser, rather than the Google Earth app which you previously needed to have downloaded. It shows you a variety of views, including microwave and infrared as well as from different sources like the Hubble telescope. You can even view the stars that make up each constellation or view the planets in the solar system.

Google Sky Now Available To Your Browser

Ars Technica brings word that Google Sky, formerly only available as an extension of the Google Earth software, is now accessible through your web browser. The interface of Google Sky is quite similar to that of Google Maps, complete with search and alternate views by spectrum. The story also mentions (and more importantly, links) ten of the more interesting sights. We discussed Google Sky's initial release last year. Quoting: "Visible light only shows us a small picture of the entire universe; non-visible spectra such as ultraviolet (UV), infrared and X-ray hold a whole other world of information. Here is where Google Sky becomes very cool. There are three more sections that highlight fantastic images from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the GALEX Evolution Explorer (UV), and the Spitzer Space Telescope (IR). What makes these very cool is that under each selected body there is a slider that will change the displayed image back and forth between the visible and invisible spectrum."

Google brings stars to the desktop

Internet users can now access the imagery of millions of celestial objects without downloading software.

Google Sky brings the imagery and functionality of its Sky in Google Earth feature to web browsers.

This makes it easier than ever for students, amateur astronomers and professionals alike to explore the universe, Google said in a press statement.

By surfing to http://sky.google.com, users can browse, zoom and pan the sky, search for stars and galaxies, and link to any place in the sky.

The same features that are available in Sky in Google Earth, such as "Backyard Astronomy," "Hubble Showcase" and podcasts from the radio programme Earth & Sky, can be accessed by clicking on an image strip that appears along the bottom of the page.