People around the world are fascinated with our solar system. As you look into the starry heavens on a clear night, the stars shine brightly and the planets seem to sparkle. Man is struck by the sheer magnificent beauty of the universe.

You may say, "I would love to look at the planets and stars more but I don't have a telescope or access to a clear night due to pollution." Fear not my science minions! Google has the answer.

To coincide with the second anniversary of the rover Curiosity, "the California-based gods of the Internet have released two new maps to explore using the Google Earth application—on Mars and the Moon," reports Outside.

How did all this come together? Images came from various spacecraft, including Curiosity. The Moon option gives you  NASA landing sites narrated by "Apollo" astronauts, and you can view 3-D models of spacecraft and footage from their missions.

The Mars option allows the viewer to see a list of famous Martian landmarks, watch a tour of the planet narrated by Ira Flatow, NPR Science correspondent or Bill Nye the Science Guy and view the latest images from NASA.

Wow! It is not hard to see why man is so enamored with his surroundings!

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