May 19, 2008

Google Logo Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm

WorldWide Telescope Brings Universe Home

Microsoft's new WorldWide Telescope makes it possible for anyone to virtually (if not boldly) go where no one has gone before, through astronomical data and images generated by top observatories and instruments. At worldwidetelescope.org. Cynthia Graber reports.

Illustration of a Bohr atom model spinning around the words Science Quickly with various science and medicine related icons around the text

Join Our Community of Science Lovers!

[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]

If you’ve ever wanted to explore the universe, your dream is now as close as your keyboard. Because last week, Microsoft unveiled its online WorldWide Telescope. The program was developed in partnership with NASA and research institutions such as the California Institute of Technology. The WorldWide Telescope uses the best high-resolution imagery that’s been generated both here on earth and in space. The images are joined together to put celestial objects in the correct perspective and in their actual positions in the sky.

From your computer, you can peer through telescopes such as the Hubble or the Chandra X-Ray Observatory. You can roam on your own through the galaxies, get up close and personal with the planets, or take tours guided by astronomers and professors. You can choose to look through different wavelengths of light to reveal hidden structures. And you can explore the heavens not only as they are today, but as they were in the past or will be in the future. The late Jim Gray, a Microsoft computer scientist, conceived of this effort as a way to make the universe accessible to everyone. The free program can be downloaded at worldwidetelescope.org.

—Cynthia Graber

On supporting science journalism

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

60-Second Science is a daily podcast. Subscribe to this Podcast: RSS | iTunes

 

It’s Time to Stand Up for Science

If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.

I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.

If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.

In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can't-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world's best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.

There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.

Thank you,

David M. Ewalt, Editor in Chief, Scientific American

Subscribe
WorldWide Telescope Brings Universe Home