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Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope virtual planetarium goes live |
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Written by Derek Kessler on
Thursday, 15 May 2008
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 Microsoft Research has officially launch a new piece of software: WorldWide Telescope. The free software allows users with internet access to explore the universe from their computer via a new comprehensive digital archive of imagery from the world’s best telescopes. Users can zoom and pan around at virtual warp speed to get an up-close look at some of our universe’s most interesting features.
The WorldWide Telescope is built on top of Microsoft’s Visual Experience Engine. The server-side of the software store several terabytes of the best high-resolution images for instant access to broadband users. Users are able to even choose between their telescopes and can pick from the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and Spitzer Space Telescope, among others.
 WWT also possesses the ability to look at the universe through different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, including visual light, infrared, and x-ray. The different segments of the spectrum can be crossfaded so you can look at how infrared and x-ray features correlate to what we see in the sky. Users can also scroll through time to see the past and future locations of our neighboring planets, and enter their location to see what the sky looks like from where they are on Earth.
As a bonus, users can turn their virtual telescope around and look at Earth, though the aerial imagery is not as detailed as Earth-dedicated software like Google Earth and Microsoft’s Virtual Earth. Users can also take a look at the surface of Mars, courtesy of the 360° panoramas beamed back from NASA’s surface rovers on the planet.
WWT is going up against other free online astronomy programs, like Google Sky (part of Google Earth) and the open-source Stellarium. It also has much higher computer requirements than other programs, but at the same time harnessed all that power for what can best be described as a smooth breath-taking tour of the cosmos. WWT requires at least a 2GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, and a 128MB 3D-capable graphics card, so many older budget computers may not be able to run the software effectively. WWT also requires the user to be running Windows, XP SP2 or Vista, but Windows nonetheless.
A unique feature of WorldWide Telescope is the inclusion of more than 30 guided tours of the universe narrated by professional astronomers. You can pause the tour at any point for further examination of where you are, and when satisfied you can resume the tour, or pick up a different related tour. Users can also create their own tours and download more from professional groups like Astronomy Magazine, Meade 4M, and Sky & Telescope.
Download: Microsoft Research WorldWide Telescope (Windows XP or Vista required)
Discuss: TrekUnited Forum
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