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Amateur astronomers Tuesday got Internet access to
imagery from the best telescopes on earth and in space with a new
service launched by Microsoft.
The US software giant's new
Worldwide Telescope (www.worldwidetelescope.org) merges cosmic
images from some of the world's most advanced telescopes into an
online version of the universe available for anyone to explore.
"Users can see the X-ray
view of the sky, zoom into bright radiation clouds, and then
cross-fade into the visible light view and discover the cloud
remnants of a supernova explosion from a thousand years ago,"
said Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics researcher Roy
Gould said of the new service.
Worldwide Telescope competes with
a star-gazing Sky feature added to Google's free Earth mapping
service last year.
Worldwide Telescope combines
"terabytes of incredible imagery" with simple software to
enable Internet users to study stars, planets and other aspects of
the cosmos through lenses of the best telescopes currently in use,
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said in a written release.
"The WorldWide Telescope is
a powerful tool for science and education that makes it possible for
everyone to explore the universe," Gates said.
"Our hope is that it will
inspire young people to explore astronomy and science, and help
researchers in their quest to better understand the universe,"
he said.
"I believe this new creation
from Microsoft will have a profound impact on the way we view the
universe."
Online visitors can pick
telescopes they want to view through, with choices including the
Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center, and
the Spitzer Space Telescope.
Computer software lets people see
where planets were in their orbits, where they are and where they
are going as well as overlay wavelengths of light that reveal things
hidden from unaided eyes.
"We are proud to release
this as a free service to anyone who wants to explore the
universe," said Microsoft Next Media Research Group manager
Curtis Wong.
"Where is Saturn in the sky,
in relation to the moon? Does the Milky Way really have a super
massive black hole in the center of the galaxy? With the universe at
your fingertips, you can discover the answers for yourself."
Google began offering users
telescopic views of the cosmos last year in Google Earth with the
addition of Sky, which was enhanced in January and includes
astronomy links and lessons.
"We're excited to provide
users with rich astronomical imagery and enhanced content that
enables them to both learn about what they're seeing above and tell
their own stories," Google product manager Lior Ron said at the
launch.
"By working with some of the
industry's leading experts, we've been able to transform Google
Earth into a virtual telescope."
At the time, former US astronaut
Sally Ride described Sky as "a very cool feature for anyone who
has ever looked up a the sky and wanted to know more."
-- AFP
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