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chuck12345
member
Reged: 03/24/08
Posts: 48
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Hey everyone, I am just wondering about people's thoughts on microsoft's worldwide telescope in regards to what it can do and how it compares to other products.
http://worldwidetelescope.org/
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Chuck
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blatterjr
sage
Reged: 08/13/07
Posts: 263
Loc: Saint Petersburg Florida
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As a very beginning amateur observer of the sky, it has provided a decent user experience. I have not used many of the common astronomical software products, but I think it is a step above Google Sky View for accessibility. You'll need to ask someone else about content... worldwidetelescope is in beta currently. 
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Robert
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Meade 12-LX200-ACF
BINO: Nikon AEX 10x50 6.5°
DSLR: Nikon D70+CCPro2
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Saint Petersburg Florida
27°47'22.92"N , 82°43'09.48"W
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dave b
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/10/05
Posts: 2457
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its free, so id say price wise it compares pretty good, although you need a good computer to run it:
* Microsoft® XP SP2 (minimum), Windows® Vista® (recommended)
* PC with Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 2 gigahertz (GHz) or faster, recommended
* 1 gigabyte (GB) of RAM; 2 GB RAM recommended
* 3D accelerated card with 128 megabytes (MB) RAM; discrete graphics card with dedicated 256-MB VRAM recommended for higher performance
* 1 GB of available hard disk space; 10 GB recommended for off-line features and higher performance browsing
* XGA (1024 x 768) or higher resolution monitor
* Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing and scrolling device
* Microsoft® DirectX® version 9.0c and .NET Framework 2.0
* Required for some features; Internet connection at 56 Kbps or higher through either an Internet service provider (ISP) or a network. Internet access might require a separate fee to an ISP; local or long-distance telephone charges might also apply
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dave bonandrini
30" f/5.2 Dobsonian
President of GCAC
Astromart Moderator
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basel10
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 07/15/05
Posts: 805
Loc: TN
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I would not remotely consider WWT for field use or observation planning. It only has the NGC/IC deepsky datatbase. That means no dark nebula non ngc open clusters such as cr 399, stock 2 and many others many binocular objects. It will not print charts, no night vision and basic planetary features. There are much better free tools out there for field use CDC being one of them.
It is a great program for cloudy night entertainment and education. Its guides is a fantastic tool for public outreach and I encourage everyone to take advantage of this.
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www.knoxvilleobservers.org
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Markovich
super member
Reged: 05/22/07
Posts: 105
Loc: Central Ohio
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Of course, only if you use Windows. Unlike Google's, this is limited to one OS.
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"The secret to flying is to throw yourself at the ground...and miss!"
Douglas Adams
Obsession 15" with Swayze mirror
Celestron Nexstar 5i
Celestron Ultima C8 PEC
Orion Starblast
Edited by Tom L (05/31/08 11:10 PM)
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Joe Lalumia
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/24/07
Posts: 2571
Loc: Rockwall, Texas, USA
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It's meant to be a platform to create interesting "tours" for teaching and outreach--- not for "scientific" study or use. The tour creation function is VERY GOOD!
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LX90 8" LNT, SV Nighthawk & TelePOD, SV 80/9D & M4 mount, ETX 90, Orion XT10i, 20x80 binoculars, SV-BV3s.
"The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax." - Albert Einstein
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