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Google Maps now throws you into hyperspace when switching between planets

Google Maps is one of the best services for navigating the planet and, for a couple of years now, the web version of Maps has been able to show you the surface of other planets too. Now, Google has quietly updated Maps to throw users into hyperspace when switching between planets.

Spotted on Reddit, Google Maps now shows a neat hyperspace animation when you switch from Earth to other planets in our solar system. We’re not entirely sure when this animation was added, but it seems possible it was added as a nod to the latest installment in the Star Wars franchise. The design of the animation is also nearly identical to how it looks in the latest films.

For those not familiar, Google Maps added the ability to see other planets back in 2017 and added the ability to use Street View within the International Space Station around the same time.

To access the planets, open Google Maps on the web and zoom out as far as you can. From there, open the sidebar and tap “Globe,” then toggle on the satellite view. Now, if you zoom out a little farther, a bar should appear with a list of planets and moons. If you tap another planet, Google Maps should move through hyperspace to the selected location as you can see in the GIF below.

google maps hyperspace planets

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Avatar for Ben Schoon Ben Schoon

Ben is a Senior Editor for 9to5Google.

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