Previously only available as part of Google Earth, you are now free to browse through outer space directly from your browser with Google Sky!

Google Sky includes a number of different ways to explore the universe. Select the thumbnail images at the bottom of the display to bring up the planets, the constellations, highlights from the Hubble Space Telescope, famous stars, galaxies and nebulae. Other features available through Google Sky include:

* Infrared - An infrared view of the sky from the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). Change the transparency of this layer by moving the slide bar to blend the optical and infrared.

* Microwave - A view of the microwave sky from NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), which shows the universe as it was 380,000 years after the big bang.

* Historical - The sky as drawn by Giovanni Maria Cassini (printed in 1792) showing the constellations in their classical form from the collections of David Rumsey

Two things I really like about this free service is that it offers

1. Hi-res photos of some of the most best-looking galaxies out there so you can take good close-up views
2. Quick one-click access to important and beautiful astronomical entities, because if you’re an astronomy newbie like me - you probably wouldn’t know where to start looking
3. A search box, so you can jump directly to your outer space location of choice

Anyhow, looks like Google is indexing on all fronts… First the web, then the earth, the moon, planet mars….and now the rest of the known universe :)