Three websites for exploring space
We can't all be astronauts, more's the pity, but these three interactive websites will give you a sense of the grandeur of it all.
We can't all be astronauts, more's the pity, but these three interactive websites will give you a sense of the grandeur of it all.
The Scale of the Universe
Built by teen brothers Carey and Michael Huang, The Scale of the Universe lets you see the scale of, well, the universe. As you zoom farther out, you will see larger and larger objects, their relative sizes and the relative distances between objects. By the time you get to the end, your mind will boggle.
Mars Greeley Haven 360 panorama
Assembled from images that were released last week and taken by Mars rover Opportunity, which was sent up by NASA in 2003, this interactive panorama shows the Martian landscape as seen from Opportunity's winter home of the Greeley Haven in the Endeavour Crater. The colour of that sky is incredible. View in full screen for the best effect.
The Centre of the Milky Way
This one is a bit slow to load, but it's worth the wait. It's a 150 billion-pixel image of the centre of the Milky Way, combining data from the UK Infrared Telescope in Hawaii and the VISTA telescope in Chile, and put together by astronomers at the University of Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh.
It sure is beautiful up there.
Where do you go on the internet to be an armchair astronaut?