A Google smartphone app impresses the ladies, you ask? Yes, apparently it does:

"You would not believe the number of people who have told us Google Sky Map has made for a great date night," said Dominic Widdows, a software engineer at Google's office on the Carnegie Mellon University campus in Oakland, where the app was developed.

Like a handheld planetarium, Sky Map displays astronomical entities such as planets, constellations and galaxies that exist in the direction the smartphone is pointed. Up toward the heavens, down through the other side of the Earth, straight beyond the horizon -- the app creates an actual, real-time map of universal space." ~ Smartphone Users Over the Moon for Google Planetarium Program, Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Brilliant! The technology is built inside the two HTC Android smartphones via GPS, compass, clock and accelerometer. Simply point and click! The application then shows you what the name of the star you’re pointing to is. There's a search function as well. You can enter "Saturn" and the phone will display an arrow pointing to the planet. As you get closer to it, the color of the arrow goes from blue to red and then the app circles the object when you find it.

Now, how cool is that?

The year 2009 was the International Year of Astronomy and technology recognized that. I keep telling all of you men out there that the ladies love astrology and all things related. Well, apparently a friend of mine "gets it" without even being told (he's a fellow "Mt. Vernoner" for those of you in-the-know). After all, he's the one that developed the new smartphone app:

"Kevin Serafini and another Google software engineer came up with the idea in August 2008, Serafini said. Ultimately, four others teamed up to create the app. We thought it'd be cool to make a planetarium app," Serafini said, pointing to a physical model that represented what they planned to do electronically."

But stand back, ladies, because this one's married to a wonderful woman who was a very close friend of mine growing up. Hats off to you, Kevin!

So what's the greatest thing about this smartphone app for men to aid them in their dating endeavours? The free app doesn't need internet connectivity to use it. This means that you can take your phone - and your girl - out to the boonies and impress her with your new technology. That is, of course, after you brush up on your astronomical knowledge and take a 101 course in astrology to make it complete.

So what are you waiting for guys? Get the free Google Planetarium Sky Map app, grab your girl, and head for a nice, dark quiet place. Bring a blanket and a bottle of wine to really seal the deal and you'll be sure to impress her. Heck, you might even be able to "get your groove on."

And then you can come back here and thank Kevin Serafini and the others involved in the Sky Map development for all of your newfound dating success . . .