WorldWide Telescope

David Benford
Feb 12, 2016
2 min read

I have spent a great amount of time on the internet exploring various ways in which to interact and learn more about my hobby. One of the greatest sites I have come upon thus far is a site known as the WorldWide Telescope . This program was developed by Microsoft Research , Microsoft Corporation , and currently ran by the .Net Foundation

The World Wide Telescope, originally authored by Curtis Wong and Jonathan Fay, is a visualization that functions as a virtual telescope, taking images from ground based - and space - based telescopes. The World Wide Telescope allows users to go on a guided exploration of the universe using compliled images from these telescopes to allow users to virtually explore the universe at your very own finger tips.

The site offers five modes:

1. Sky - Which allows user to view images of space from many of the Earth based telescopes in their actual location in the sky. It also allows for the viewing of other spectral bands images ranging from radio to gamma.

2. Earth - In Earth mode, you're allowed to view a 3D model of the Earth. It works in the same manner as say, Google Earth, and offers different map projections such as Mercator, Equirectangular, and Tessellated Octahedral Adaptive Subdivions Transform - or TOAST. You also have the ability to layer for seasons, day/night, and street modes.

3. Planets - Planet mode currently only offers the view of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, the moons of Jupiter, and the Earth's moon. In the same way as the Earth mode, you are able to view these planets and moons in a 3D model.

4. Panoramas - Panoramas is pretty neat in the fact that you are able to view images taken from the Mars Rover panoramas that they have taken over the years while on the Mars surface.

5. Solar System - In this mode, you are able to view the major objects that are within the Solar System, ranging from the Sun to Pluto. You are able to move forward and backwards in time, as well as having the ability to type in a time and date to view the positions of these objects.

The site is quite easy to navigate and allows the download of a web client which is a browser-based version of the WorldWide Telescope. It runs on a variety of platforms, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and any HTML5 Silverlight compatible browser.

If you take the time to explore all the functions and capabilities this site has to offer, you will be astonished by the amount of information you can view and learn.

Enjoy the wonders of our universe at your finger tips and be sure to pass on this website to other individuals who may be interested in learning and viewing more of our universe.