Looking for an activity that will help kill some time and remind you of how small we are relative to the rest of the universe? Google has you covered.
The search giant today launched a new Chrome Experiment called "100,000 Stars," which provides a stunning look at the stars that are relatively close to Earth - you know, just a few light years away.
"Using your mouse or trackpad, you can zoom in and out to explore our galaxy," Google said. "Zooming in reveals the names of the most prominent stars close to our sun ? click each name to learn more about it and see a digital rendition."
The site uses WebGL, CSS3D, and Web Audio. Music is provided by Sam Hulick, who composed for the Mass Effect video game series. At first glance, I didn't even realize there was a musical component, but flipping on those speakers, it definitely adds a trippy, sci-fi feeling. Not sure what you're looking at? Click the "take a tour" button for a look at what's surrounding us.
"It would take 18 years for a jet airplane to fly to the sun," according to the site. At this point, Voyager is the man-made object that is furthest from Earth at 17 light hours away. The nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, is 4.3 light years away.
Scroll all the way out for a dizzying look at the galactic plane and the Milky Way, which houses up to 400 billion stars. Zoom all the way in to our sun and take a peak at some of the 100,000 stars in our vicinty, many of which have been named by astronomers.
"As you explore this experiment, we hope you share our wonder for how large the galaxy really is," Google said. "It's incredible to think that this mist of 100,000 measurable stars is a tiny fraction of the sextillions of stars in the broader universe."
For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.
Source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2412197,00.asp?kc=PCRSS05079TX1K0000993
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