Google on Tuesday announced the launch of a new version of 'Sky in Google Earth,' which allows scientists, students and amateur stargazers to explore the millions of stars and galaxies around them.

The improved version offers a wide range of new services, from updates on cosmological events, to historical maps and virtual tours of the sky, said a statement from Google.

The new version includes the following:

Current cosmological events - timely updates on happenings in the sky such as comets and asteroids;

Featured observatories - with images from observatory satellites in different wavelengths of the sky, including x-ray images, infrared images, ultraviolet images and a microwave map of the sky.

Historical maps - including David Rumsey's historical maps of the sky which are based on drawings by an Italian engraver Giovanni Maria Cassini dating back to 1792.

They show how interpretations and concepts of the sky have changed over time. There is also a Constellations Art layer based on engravings of 50 constellations done by the German astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1690.

Other features in the new version of Sky include podcasts about stars, galaxies, planets and up-coming events in the sky; a grand tour of the sky that takes users through 100 favourite spots in the sky and a sky community layer showing the best sky content submitted by users around the world, the statement said.

Also launched today, the Sky API (Application Programming Interface) allows developers to build their own sky mashups using Google Earth's extensive Sky imagery.

Those keen to explore 'Sky in Google Earth,' can download the latest version of Google Earth at earth.google.xx by clicking on the 'Switch to Sky' button on the toolbar at the top of the screen, and then navigating the skies, the statement added.-TradeArabia News Service