Worldwide Telescope Talk at TED

Roy Gould & Curtis Wong gave a quick glimpse into a Microsoft Research project called the WorldWide Telescope at a TED talk in February.  This appears to be building on the SeaDragon and HD View technologies that Microsoft is also developing.

A high-def version of the clip can be downloaded here.

Another really cool software technology for you astronomy buffs is Google Earth.  One of the lesser-known features is that you can turn it from being Earth-centric to pointing out to the Universe by clicking "View -> Switch to Sky".  Definitely worth your while to pull it down and "scope" it out (okay – bad pun…)

Doug White