Google Sky (web) - Update

One feature of Google Sky (web) that I didn't notice yesterday is that you can load KML overlays (user created files) onto the map by entering them in the search box. For me this could be the killer application of Google Sky.

One criticism I read in some of the first reviews of Google Sky was that it doesn't have constellation boundaries. Well this problem is easily overcome by adding barnabu's KML of Constellations.

To add a KML to Google Sky (web) all you have to do is cut and paste the address of the KML into the Google Sky search box.

Here are some Google Sky KMLs for you to try:
(right click on the links and cut and paste the address into Google Sky (web))

• Constellations
• Star Viewer - this is the video layer from my own Star Viewer. For some reason the YouTube videos don't seem to load but I include it here just as a general example.
• London Planisphere - a horizon add-on for London. You can generate a horizon for your location at HeyWhatsThat
• The Multicolor Sky - this file presents both multicolor images and an interactive redshift catalog from AEGIS. Each image---X-ray, ultraviolet, optical (Hubble), or infrared---gives us different information about the evolution of galaxies and massive black holes over the past 10 billion years.
• Chandra X-ray Observatory - a tour of some of the amazing images captured by the observatory.
• GALEX Showcase - the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) is an orbiting space telescope that will observe galaxies in ultraviolet light across 10 billion years of cosmic history.
• NOAO Showcase
  - This gallery from the National Optical Astronomy Observatory highlights the diversity of shapes and sizes of 10 Local Group galaxies as well as the colorful glowing gas of the famous Large Magellanic Cloud.
• VOEventNet - the sky is a dynamic place. VOEventNet connects you directly to the data feeds astronomers use to track gamma ray bursts and gravitational microlensing events.

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