It is, but I think it uses system time rather than the user being able
to set the time and date. Plus you can't see what it looks like from
the ground. almost like you are in geosync orbit above a spot on earth.
Of course you can then go to other places and see it from there or zoom
in on objects and see information about them.

Richard Adams wrote:

On Aug 22, 10:03 am, "Craig" wrote:
Looks like Google has expanded Google Earth to show the
sky.http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070822/...oogle_sky_dc_1

LONDON (Reuters) - Popular mapping service Google Earth will launch
a new feature called Sky, a "virtual telescope" that the search
engine hopes will turn millions of Internet users into stargazers.
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Google, which created Google Earth to give Internet users an
astronaut's view that can zoom to street level, said the service
would be a playground for learning about space.

"Never before has a roadmap of the entire sky been made so readily
available," said Dr. Carol Christian of the Space Telescope Science
Institute, who co-led the institute's Sky team.

"Sky in Google Earth will foster and initiate new understanding of
the universe by bringing it to everyone's home computer."

Like Google Earth, Sky will enable users to float and zoom in on
over 100 million individual stars and 200 million galaxies. Users
will view the sky as seen from earth.

It has created different layers which will show the life of a star,
constellations, high-resolution images provided by the Hubble Space
Telescope and a users guide to galaxies.

A backyard astronomy layer lets users click through stars, galaxies
and nebulae visible to the eye, binoculars and small telescopes.

The imagery was stitched together from numerous third parties
including the Digital Sky Survey Consortium, the United Kingdom
Astronomy Technology Centre and the Anglo-Australian Observatory.
The imagery will be updated over time.

"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," said Google Product Manager Lior
Ron in a statement.

"By working with some of the industry's leading experts, we've been
able to transform Google Earth into a virtual telescope."

Google Earth launched in June 2005 to combine its search service
with satellite imagery, maps and 3D building to display geographical
information of the world. The search engine says over 250 million
people have downloaded it.

The Sky service will be available on all Google Earth domains, in 13
languages from later on Wednesday. Users will need to download the
newest version of Google Earth which can be found
atwww.earth.google.com

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This is just so cool I can scarcely contain myself.

I though it would be a good idea a few years ago, leave it to Google
to pull it off.



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