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Redmond: This is a different sort of Maps to the Stars.
Microsoft has taken the wraps off an astonishingly vast visual guide to the universe that is powered by some of the world's best telescopes.
Developed over the past six years in the tech giant's research division, Micro-soft is releasing the application free of charge in part to show off its Visual Experience Engine. The engine provides smooth panning and zooming that allows viewers to focus on a particular planet or cluster of stars without abandoning the scale of the area surrounding it.
"It's gorgeous, that's the main thing," said curator Laura Danly of the Griffith Observatory. "This is a labour of love and a work of art. It is really deeply thought through."
Microsoft Principal Researcher Curtis Wong said the visual engine was more of a means to a desirable end than an end in itself. "We develop technologies that can help shape future Microsoft products," he said. "In my group, what we try to do is build something with some larger benefit to the public at large."
Available from www.worldwidetelescope.org , the program works, as one might suspect, only on computers using the most recent Microsoft operating systems, Windows XP and Windows Vista. Apple computers with those version of Windows can also support the software, which performs best on machines with strong graphics capabilities.
Astronomers and educators said the WorldWide Telescope is important because it amalgamates so much data - visual and verbal - and allows users to examine space as it appears in natural light or with infrared, X-ray and other views.
"Nasa operates a number of telescopes that are daily sending back spectacular images. But if you have a single tool that will let you get to all the images and see how they relate in context, it becomes an incredible opportunity for investigation and exploration," said California Institute of Technology astronomer Robert Hurt, who works on NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.
"One of the nice things about WorldWide Telescope is that it has almost a cinematic representation of the data," Hurt said.
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