100m stars and 200m galaxies at a mouseclick's distance.
Google has launched a new service that turns the focus of its Google Earth service up to the sky, allowing users to view photos of the stars and distant planets.
Users active the star view by selecting "Switch to sky" from the "view drop down menu in the application.
Turning star gazing into an activity that can be enjoyed all day long, Google has added seven informative layers that illustrate various features of outer space, including constellations, plants and users guide to galaxies, as well as explanations of features such as the life of a star.
The service lists 100m stars and 200m distant galaxies. A video tutorial offers to guide novice astronomers through the service.
Google had previously released its Google Moon service, which offers photo's of the moon surface in the Google Maps interface marking past moon landings.