Microsoft’s Answer to Google Earth- Launches ‘Worldwide Telescope’
Till now Google Earth, Google Sky and Google Moon were the only applications that gave us a panoramic view of heavens and earth. However, that dominance has now been shattered by the launch of Microsoft’s Worldwide Telescope.
The Worldwide Telescope is based on the Web 2.0 services created by Microsoft’s high performance Visual Experience Engine that enables unobtrusive pan and zoom functions into the vastness of the universe. Now, the entire universe is right there in front of us just a few clicks away. The Worldwide Telescope incorporates terabytes of enriched images of numerous celestial bodies and are arrayed in a way that places them in the interface according to their related actual positions in the sky.
On the launch of The Worldwide Telescope, Bill Gates (Chairman, Microsoft) said, “The WorldWide Telescope is a powerful tool for science and education that makes it possible for everyone to explore the universe. By combining terabytes of incredible imagery and data with easy-to-use software for viewing and moving through all that information, the WorldWide Telescope opens the door to new ways to see and experience the wonders of space. 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.”
Unlike other mapping applications, The Worldwide Telescope has broken the threshold of conventional image browsing. In fact, a user chooses from an array of telescopes, ranging from Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center to the Spitzer Space Telescope and others as well.
According to Curtis Wong (Manager, Microsoft Next Media Research Group), “WorldWide Telescope brings to life a dream that many of us in Microsoft Research have pursued for years, and we are proud to release this as a free service to anyone who wants to explore the universe. Where is Saturn in the sky, in relation to the moon? Does the Milky Way really have a supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy? With the universe at your fingertips, you can discover the answers for yourself.”
Microsoft has redeemed for all its past mistakes and has been able to overcome for all the time it has lagged behind Google, with a ‘Big Bang’.
May 15th, 2008 at 12:46 am
[...] Microsoft has announced the launch of 'The Worldwide Telescope'. This telescope is based on the Web 2.0 services created by Microsoft's high performance Visual Experience Engine that enables unobtrusive pan and zoom functions into the vastness of the universe. A user can choose from an array of telescopes, to select which planet, galaxy or celestial bodies he would like to explore. More…… [...]