Here's how to explore our solar system at light speed with Google Maps

If you have watched Star Wars or if you are even a little bit into science fiction or just general science for that matter, then you would know what light speed is. How would you like to travel at light speed?

If you aren't aware of what light speed is, then here's a quick science lesson for you. If you take a particle and accelerate it close to the speed of light which is 299,792,458 meters per second, or 186,282 miles per second, the energy required to move that particle becomes infinite. Making it impossible for any form of mass to reach the speed of light or exceed it.

Luckily, Google Maps isn't moving particles, and can instead give us observers a novel hyperspace experience through a nifty effect. If you didn't know, Google Maps is now equipped with a new tool that allows users to navigate the solar system at break-neck speeds, and here's how to do it.

Steps (Thanks to LifeHacker):

1. Go to Google Maps.
2. Click the "Satellite view" button at the lower-left of the screen.
3. Click the super-tiny "Global view" button at the top of the navigation controls in your browser's lower-right corner.
4. Using either the "-" key, your mouse wheel, or the Google Maps zoom controls, zoom out until you're in the planetary view of Earth.
5. Select one of the various planets and moons from the list on the left, and you'll blast through hyperspace to your new destination. Eligible destinations include Mars (to visit Dr. Manhattan), Europa (to recreate the journey of that 2013 sci-fi film), and the International Space Station (to say hello to everyone currently zooming around our planet).