Microsoft Takes to the Skies

摘要

Free software isn't usually what comes to mind when you think about Microsoft, but the Redmond campus does produce some useful freebies in its spare time. Its most notable recent download is Worldwide Telescope, which joins Google Sky in bringing stargazing onto your desktop. Combining imagery from telescopes both on Earth and in space (including the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory), this program is designed to provide you with a seamless view of the known universe. Zoom in and out of regions using your mouse, or take a guided multimedia tour of some of the universe's phenomena.