Web Watch : Web Site Directory : BBC Berkshire : Henley Standard

Listen to podcast

"I have yet to locate Scorpius via GoogleEarth; I think I took a wrong turn at Pluto..."

To infinity and beyond

by Jacqueline Alexander

There are certain people we love having in our world. For some, it will be their family. For others, it will be their friends. A few will name a confidant, a favourite uncle or may be even a pet. But, for me, it's Patrick Moore.

Mr. Moore is, in my humble opinion, a living legend. As presenter of the Sky at Night for over 50 years, he has an inimitable style, an acute intelligence and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of enthusiasm, all of which ensure I tune in to his monthly round up of what has been going on in our universe.

It's thanks to Patrick that my knowledge of supernovas, pulsars and gamma ray bursts is sketchy as opposed to non-existent. The inconvenient lack of an observatory in my life has prevented further investigation into our spectacular galaxy so any experience of a live show has been limited. Until now, that is. Unfortunately, I am still without telescope but, this week, I have discovered the next best thing, GoogleEarth 4.2.

Many people are already familiar with the extensive powers of previous versions of GoogleEarth. The satellite images, maps and 3D close-ups have allowed us to experience an aerial view of the world from our armchair. We are able to view our home, our potential homes and even our holiday homes to make sure there are no nasty surprises when we arrive for our annual top-up of sunshine and sand dunes. But now, we can look up to the skies to find out what is going on in the heavens above. In its latest incarnation, GoogleEarth has gone galactic.

Planets, comets, constellations and other cosmic phenomena are all brought to life on your PC. You can travel millions of miles into space to scan through over 1 million stars and 200 million galaxies. Even with my astronomical education courtesy of Patrick Moore, I didn't realise there were 200 other galaxies to survey never mind 200 million.

GoogleEarth uses data and imagery provided by observatories from organisations including the Digital Sky Survey Consortium, the Palomar Observatory in California and the United Kingdom Astronomy Technology Centre. Google also signed an agreement with Nasa in December 2006 but this was to put "the most useful of Nasa's information on the internet". Apparently, GoogleEarth's latest developments are not part of the agreement.

When you first go to the latest version of what is being coined 'GoogleSky', the system takes you to a view immediately above your current location. Apparently, if you live in Wimbledon, the Spiral galaxy M81, 12 million light years from Earth, is just above you. From there, you can go on to explore the universe and all its intricate wonders. With controls such as rotate, pan and zoom, high-resolution images from the Hubble Space Telescope come alive and, supported by information accessed via a click of the mouse, full details of what you are seeing are revealed within an overlay.

Constellations act as a map of the sky and time-line animations allow you to see the planets' orbits so, as a highly amateur astronomer, a whole new world opens up to you before your very eyes.

But, for all GoogleEarth's power and technology, somehow the universe is still filled with mystery and a lack of knowledge quickly becomes frustrating as you navigate your way through red dwarfs, white dwarfs, neutrons, quasars as well as Andromeda, Hydra and Vulpecula to name but a few of the many constellations available to you. So how can you keep in touch with exactly what is going on? Enter Patrick Moore.

Unfortunately, Mr. Moore has not yet been commissioned by GoogleEarth to bring the skies alive but he does host a comprehensive web site within the BBC online behemoth that will probably answer every question that comes to mind as you investigate the interplanetary action.

The Sky at Night's web site offers you the opportunity to watch the most recent programme as well as a selection from the archive. Each programme is supported by easy-to-understand definitions and explanations of the content. If you don't know your red dwarf from your white dwarf then let Patrick illuminate you.

You are also given an insight into this charismatic astronomer via a questions and answers session and an interview where he talks about the fascinating people he has met during his time. Unsurprisingly, there is not one 'z' list celebrity to be seen. Instead, you are treated to anecdotes relating to Orville Wright, Einstein and Rachmaninov. He also mentions how he misses his close friend, Michael Bentine, famous to most through The Goon Show but famous to me through Potty Time.

Whilst I was there, I took a peak at July's programme, which reveals how to identify the summer constellation, Scorpius, one of the oldest constellations, located near the centre of the Milky Way. Fascinating, but I have yet to locate it via GoogleEarth; I think I took a wrong turn at Pluto.

I have long suspected that Google is involved in some mission to take over the world but now it seems that I may have been a little cautious in my estimations. It seems they are thinking bigger than I ever imagined. I suspect they may have commissioned a Mr. B Lightyear as their Business Development Consultant. Look out for their next slogan - to infinity and beyond.

Or perhaps it should be one small step for Google.

Jacqueline Alexander presents Web Watch every Tuesday at 5.45pm on BBC Radio Berkshire on 104.1FM, 104.4FM, 95.4FM, 94.6FM and DAB Digital Radio. To listen in, just visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/berkshire.

What is Web Watch?

Web Watch is broadcast on BBC Radio Berkshire, published in the Henley and South Oxon Standard and published online right here at web-watch.info.

As a cross-media project, Web Watch is designed to help you find the best sites here on the Internet.

You can catch Web Watch on air every Tuesday at 5.45pm when Jacqueline Alexander sits down with Phil Kennedy during the Drivetime show on BBC Radio Berkshire to chew the virtual fat.