Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope blasts off

[Tami]

Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope blasts off

SEATTLE (AP) — Microsoft Corp. launched its [url=\"http://www.worldwidetelescope.org\"]WorldWide Telescope[/url] late Monday, bringing the free Web-based program for zooming around the universe to a broad audience.

WorldWide Telescope, developed by Microsoft's research arm, knits together images from the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory Center, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and others.

Computer users can browse through the galaxy on their own or take guided tours of different outer-space destinations developed by astronomers and academics.

The site lets users choose from a number of different telescopes and switch between different light wavelengths.

"The WorldWide Telescope is a powerful tool for science and education that makes it possible for everyone to explore the universe," said Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman, in a statement.

About WorldWide Telescope

WorldWide Telescope, created with Microsoft's high-performance Visual Experience Engine, enables seamless panning and zooming across the night sky blending terabytes of images, data, and stories from multiple sources over the Internet into a media-rich immersive experience.

WorldWide Telescope is a collaborative effort between Microsoft Research and a variety of academic and governmental agencies. Microsoft Research is making WorldWide Telescope available as a free resource to the astronomy and education community with the hope that it will inspire and empower people to explore and understand the universe as never before.