Thanks to DS, I downloaded the program WorldWide Telescope. This is similar to the idea of , but a little better put together. For those taking Astronomy in college, like I did, then this program is just like that one you had to buy, you know, Starry Night. Starry Night is $150 and lacks real Hubble images, so that is how they are set apart.
The WorldWide Telescope (WWT) is a rich visualization environment that functions as a virtual telescope, bringing together imagery from the best ground and space telescopes in the world for a seamless, guided exploration of the universe.
Link
Obviously I played with the program for a little before I wrote this, so I’ll tell you a bit about it. It has every constellation that you could ever think of. It also has images of all the planets and moons in case that’s all you fancy. Their easy tab system makes it so even an inexperienced astronomer can maneuver around this program and learn a thing or two.
There is a Guided Tours tab that takes you through a tour of nebulae, galaxies, planets, black holes, star clusters and tons of other good stuff. You can search by name if you want or just wander the skies with your mouse.
Go check it out for yourself and you might just learn something.
Tags: chandra, hubble, microsoft, nebulae, planets, spitzer, starry night, stars, telescope, worldwide, wwt
Wow, I’m gonna age myself but when I took that class we didn’t have computer programs we had to buy, they still used the old fashioned books and we went to the Planetarium. I’m feeling very old now, I have to go to bed.
One thing to remember fuzzbutt… If you act old, you’re old. Keep your inner child alive!