By: Garett Rogers | Source: blogs.zdnet.com

Google has joined the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope project that will one day give users the experience of navigating through space — similar to what they have already done with Google Earth.

"The telescope will probe the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy, and it will open a movie-like window on objects that change or move rapidly: exploding supernovae, potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids as small as 100 meters, and distant Kuiper Belt Objects" —

Google isn’t going into the project looking to make money according to Jon Murchinson, but once the service is launched it is likely they will find some way to cash in.

The new telescope, due to be constructed in 2013, will scan the entire sky and capture 30TB of data per night.  The challenge will be storage and processing of the information — that’s where Google comes in.  Another project, Celestia, already lets you navigate the heavens as I suspect Google will.

Like Stephen Maran, spokesman for the American Astronomical Society estimates, "it probably won’t be long until Google lets you advertise your product next to the Orien constellation."

Spread the word: bookmark it/ readit