I know it’s Monday and you’ve got a full ‘to do’ list. But, if you’re looking for a mind-blowing way to procrastinate, I’ve found it.
The Google Data Team, NASA, the European Space Agency and Wikipedia have joined forces to map 100,000 stars in our galaxy. And, it’s as awesome as it sounds.
Google may have mapped your local streets, and even the Great Barrier Reef, but that’s just peanuts compared to space.
This is ‘big data’ in action. You can zoom around the inner part of our galaxy and investigate what is known about 100,000 stars, and get some perspective on how small our planet is in the broader scheme of things.
Really, you’ll be able to lose, I mean, use your entire afternoon in space. Which, when put that way, is pretty awesome.
All this, it’s a Chrome experiment using WebGL. It’s best viewed using Chrome but will work in other browsers. Have a play around the galaxy here.