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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 said the WorldWide Telescope is a powerful tool for science and education that makes it possible for everyone to explore the universe.
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