Microsoft Launches the WorldWide Telescope
The
WorldWide Telescope (WWT) project
is an ambitious effort to create a Web-accessible, digital map of the entire
sky. Based on a database of high-resolution photos from telescopes across the
globe, WWT hopes to become the Google Earth of the night sky.
It's an intriguing idea that could inspire a new generation of people to explore
the cosmos. Microsoft hopes to launch WWT, currently in private alpha, some
time in the spring.
One interesting side note: The genesis of the project comes from work by former
Microsoft Research Fellow Jim Gray, who went
missing last year while sailing outside the San Francisco Bay.
Gray was well-regarded for his work in the area of database and transaction
systems. With WWT evolving from Gray's work on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
and the SkyServer project, it would seem that we're still benefiting from Gray's
efforts, long after his passing.
Are you excited about the WWT project? E-mail me at [email protected]
and let me know your thoughts.
Posted by Michael Desmond on 03/06/2008