Microsoft WorldWide Telescope blasts off

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. has launched its WorldWide Telescope bringing the free web-based program for zooming around the universe to a broad audience.

WorldWide Telescope, launched late Monday, was developed by Microsoft's research arm.

It 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.

Microsoft's chairman Bill Gates says the WorldWide Telescope is a powerful tool for science and education that makes it possible for everyone to explore the universe.

http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/

© The Canadian Press, 2008