Microsoft WorldWide Telescope 2.1.8.1 Spring Beta  beta

Publisher's Description:

The WorldWide Telescope (WWT) is a Web 2.0 visualization software environment that enables your computer to function as a virtual telescope—bringing together imagery from the best ground and space-based telescopes in the world for a seamless exploration of the universe.

WorldWide Telescope is created with the Microsoft high performance Visual Experience Engine and allows seamless panning and zooming around the night sky, planets, and image environments. View the sky from multiple wavelenghts: See the x-ray view of the sky and zoom into bright radiation clouds, and then crossfade into the visible light view and discover the cloud remnants of a supernova explosion from a thousand years ago. Switch to the Hydrogen Alpha view to see the distribution and illumination of massive primordial hydrogen cloud structures lit up by the high energy radiation coming from nearby stars in the Milky Way. These are just two of many different ways to reveal the hidden structures in the universe with the WorldWide Telescope. Seamlessly pan and zoom from aerial views of the Moon and selected planets, as well as see their precise positions in the sky from any location on Earth and any time in the past or future with the Microsoft Visual Experience Engine.

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Latest User Reviews:

Reviewer:	rodneyr	May 29, 2008
Version:	2.1.8.1 Spring Beta
To people with install problems (seems like it wants to install something else?) - had this too. Put the msi/download in it's own directory and install from there. Insane requirements -- a good graphics card, gobs of RAM, fast CPU. I give it the highest mark because when everything is working right, it is visually stunning, and blows everything else (Celestia, Google Sky, etc) out of the water. Now if we can only get them to release PhotoSynth for everyday joes to create their own collections, that would be something. Addendum -- I had to uninstall the old one to get the new beta to correctly install
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Reviewer:	anomoly	May 16, 2008
Version:	Spring Beta
Damn!. Here I thought I would be able to scope through windows in china-lol
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Reviewer:	CWY56	May 13, 2008
Version:	Spring Beta
WOW! A very nice visual experience. Much better than Google Sky and Celestia. It includes a nice tutorial and guides, and lends itself to hours of interesting space exploration and education. Installation was simple...I was zipping around the Universe in just minutes! Thanks Microsoft Research. :-D
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Reviewer:	Bobbitchin	May 13, 2008
Version:	Spring Beta
It's about time! Microsoft has been touting this for the past couple years. Even came to TMSP to talk about how cool this will be. A year later the beta finally comes out... I give it a three because of the massive system requirements.
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Reviewer:	grinch89	May 13, 2008
Version:	Spring Beta
Works fine for me,very interesting app. much better than Celestia. Tons of info. If Astronomy is your thing get this program right away,it is worth it.
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