Google Earth now offers off-Earth pictures

PARIS, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency says it has provided "spectacular images" from the Hubble Space Telescope for a new Google product.

"Sky in Google Earth" is produced by Google and can be downloaded free of charge with the newest version of Google Earth, the ESA said. The service includes 125 of the Hubble's most popular images, along with information about the objects.

The Hubble images are set within a background of real stars and galaxies taken by two powerful visible-light surveys of the heavens -- the Digitized Sky Survey and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the ESA said.

The European Space Agency has had a partnership with Google Earth for the provision of Earth images since 2006, said Fernando Doblas, head of ESA Communication.

The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between the ESA and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.