In case you have gotten bored of exploring the Earth on Google Maps (or not), you can now hop over to a bunch of distant planets and moons instead and check out the universe in all its glory. All you’ve got to do is visit Google Maps in terrain view and zoom out until you’re in space, or visit this link here. To make it easier for you to find popular places of planetary interest, Google has given a list menu that includes Pluto, Venus, and Saturn’s moons, among other celestial bodies.
So, you can wade through the icy plains of Enceladus, where water was found beneath the moon*#8217;s crust, or see how the methane lakes of Titan look like. Google also recommends exploring the massive crater of Mimas, adding “while it might seem like a sci-fi look-a-like, it is a moon, not a space station.”
All craters, mountains and plains have been neatly labeled. And when you click on different regions, you will get nuggets of information like how they got their names. All the images are in 3D, so you will be able to see where the sun hits the surface of a planet or a moon.
This super cool feature of galactic proportions has been made possible by nearly half a million pictures taken by the Cassini probe. Astronomical artist Björn Jónsson deserves a special mention for working with NASA and the European Space Agency to construct the planetary maps of Europa, Ganymede, Rhea, and Mimas, points out Google.
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