Microsoft Release Worlwide Telescope Program Similiar to Google Earth
Microsoft has released a free public beta of its WorldWide Telescope, which is software that lets both amateur and professional stargazers explore the universe from their PCs. The WorldWide Telescope is a rich Web application that accesses high-resolution images taken by ground- and Earth-orbiting telescopes such as the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center, and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The service, which opened to the public on May 13, lets people explore the cosmos through any computer with an Internet connection. It combines about 12 terabytes of data, including 50 surveys and 1,000 high-resolution studies, with links to astronomy research on sites around the Web. It blends the data with regularly updated photos captured by high-powered telescopes on and off the Earth, including the Hubble Space Telescope, circling the planet 353 miles up, and the Cerro Tololo Observatory, 312 miles north of Santiago, Chile, in the foothills of the Andes. Put it all together, and the WWT knits together a spellbinding panorama of the night sky.
The main screen of the Worldwide Telescope contains stars visible to the human eye that are mapped into constellations. You can navigate with your mouse in any direction and zoom in or out with its scroll wheel. Points of interest appear when you mouse over. You can also use the top menu or search to find celestial bodies. Here you can see that the edge of the Big Dipper’s cup does indeed point to Polaris or the North Star, which is located at the plus sign.
The program is similar to Google Sky, a mode of Google Earth that offers views of the universe, including high-resolution photographs from the Hubble Space Telescope and background information on discoveries and constellations.
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