I used to stargaze almost every night as a kid. I even had a star map/chart that I looked at so I knew where my favorite constellations were each night.

So when I stumbled upon Google’s 100,000 Stars Chrome Experiment, I had to bite back a nerdy, girlish squeal.

This gorgeous Chrome Experiment allows you to view a number of named, studied stars that are close to our own Sun. The little play button that appears on the top-left provides a short tour of the project’s features.

The look and feel of the entire thing reminds of the galaxy map in the Mass Effect series, right down to the music (composed by none other than Mass Effect composer, Sam Hulick). I spent a good chunk of the last hour just poking around the stars and finding my favorite ones.

Clicking on a star’s name zooms your view and provides information about it. The info is lifted directly from Wikipedia, but I’m not complaining. I think this is a great way to help people learn more about the stars and remind us just how huge and awesome the universe is.

El

El Santos is a marketing & advertising professional by day and gamer/bookworm/tarot reader by night. She’s prone to sudden fits of fangirling over her varied interests: video games, fiction, art, folkore, anime, and tarot. She currently lives with her husband and 2 rescue cats.