RAIN&SHINE

Tour the heavens   The 3D mapping service Google Earth has launched a new feature, called Sky, a "virtual telescope" that the…

Tour the heavens  The 3D mapping service Google Earth has launched a new feature, called Sky, a "virtual telescope" that the search engine hopes will turn millions of Internet users into stargazers.

Like Google Earth, Sky will enable users to float and zoom in on over 100 million individual stars and 200 million galaxies.

Users will view the sky as seen from earth. Google, which created Google Earth to give Internet users an astronaut's view that can zoom to street level, said the service would be a playground for learning about space. Dr Carol Christian, of the Space Telescope Science Institute which provided images for the project, said: "Never before has a roadmap of the entire sky been made so readily available.

Risk for art

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'Risk' is the title of a public seminar on taking risks in performance art that will take place tomorrow evening at the Odessa Club in Dublin. The seminar will cover aspects of creative risk-taking and is intended to encourage artists and audiences to embrace their fear of pushing the boundaries of conventional art. "Artists take risks when they embrace the unknown - when they try out something that might not work and overcome their fear of failure", says Sarah Tuck of Create, the national development agency for collaborative arts Info: - info@create-ireland.ie

Psst . . .

Save euro by using a low cost airline to get to a destination, then take the local train somewhere more exotic - and expensive - to get to.

Seek out or avoid: share your tip: august@irish-times.ie

TODOTODAY:The Guinness 13th Dunmore East Interational Bluegrass Festival starts today.

For more events, see: www.ireland.com/theticket/summerevents