The cosmos is ready for its close-up. You can now soar throughout the night sky using Google Earth, zooming in on astronomical objects at their precise location in the heavens. Get an up-close and personal view of the planets, stars, nebaule and galaxies photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope with a few strokes of the keyboard. .
You can view the images as offered in Google Earth, or you can download additional files to obtain extra features. Please note: You will need to download Google Earth to use this material.
How to use Google Earth's sky feature
gSky KML Collection
Enrich your Google Earth viewing experience with KML files created by HubbleSite. Download and install them to add features to your view of the sky.
View the collectionBest of the Web KML Files
Observatories, universities and the general public create their own KML files and make them available online. We've picked out some of the best for your enjoyment.
View the collectionYou must download and install the latest version of Google Earth in order to navigate the sky. Watch our video for step-by-step instructions on using Google Earth to view Hubble images.
How-to Video
To get Google Earth, visit http://earth.google.com. Google also offers a variety of tutorials on how to use Google Earth at http://earth.google.com/tour/index.html.