2007-08-22

Google Sky

By the looks of things a Google tool some of us have been waiting for for some time is now available (or, rather, will be later today). I first saw this about ½ hour ago on the BBC TV news. There's also an article on the BBC website:

The constellations of Andromeda, Hydra and Vulpecula are now just a mouse click away for amateur star-gazers, following the launch of Google Sky.

The tool is an add-on to Google Earth, a program that allows users to search a 3D rendition of our planet's surface.

Sky will allow astronomers a chance to glide through images of more than one million stars and 200 million galaxies.
I've been over to the Google Earth site and can't find any evidence of it at all. I'm sure we were told a URL in the interview I saw with Ed Parsons but the URL, as I recall it, doesn't work. Then again I think he said something about Google Sky being released "later today". So I'm guessing that we're supposed to wait for the US to wake up first?

Doubtless the "heavyweight" astronomy bloggers (you know who you are ;-)) will be along soon to write more about it (checking my RSS feeds at the moment, nobody I follow has given it a mention so far) but, when I finally figure out what and where, I'll probably chime in too.

3 comments:

Paul Sutherland said...

You just beat me to this, Dave! I popped in to look up the post where we talked about this earlier. I'm looking forward to trying it out!

Paul

Dave Pearson said...

I scooped a real journalist? What do I win? ;-)

Actually, I'd have posted it even earlier, but Blogger was having a funny time and wouldn't let me post. :-(

Paul Sutherland said...

I'll try to find you a fiver in the wheelbarrow-load of money that Google are no doubt rushing over to me for my Google Universe suggestion.

No, I'm not holding my breath. ;-)