What do people think about virtual telescope software?

[willpittenger]

<p>I have tried Google Earth (which has a new "Sky" feature), NASA WorldWind, and Celestia.&nbsp; Of those, my five year old machine could only run GE with its Sky feature with decent performance.&nbsp; The other two would run, but bog this machine down too much to be usable.</p><p>I also looked at Microsoft's "Worldwide Telescope," but the specs are way beyond what I have.&nbsp; From what I saw, if your machine isn't Vista Premuim ready, don't bother with the download.&nbsp; One strange thing about the Worldwide Telescope: Microsoft used Flash rather than ActiveX or Silverlight for the pages.&nbsp; Someone should check if Bill Gate's head is on straight. </p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Will Pittenger<hr style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em" />Add this user box to your Wikipedia User Page to show your support for the SDC forums: <div style="margin-left:1em">{{User:Will Pittenger/User Boxes/Space.com Account}}</div> </div>

 

[DrRocket]

<p><BR/>Replying to:<BR/><DIV CLASS='Discussion_PostQuote'>I have tried Google Earth (which has a new "Sky" feature), NASA WorldWind, and Celestia.&nbsp; Of those, my five year old machine could only run GE with its Sky feature with decent performance.&nbsp; The other two would run, but bog this machine down too much to be usable.I also looked at Microsoft's "Worldwide Telescope," but the specs are way beyond what I have.&nbsp; From what I saw, if your machine isn't Vista Premuim ready, don't bother with the download.&nbsp; One strange thing about the Worldwide Telescope: Microsoft used Flash rather than ActiveX or Silverlight for the pages.&nbsp; Someone should check if Bill Gate's head is on straight. <br />Posted by willpittenger</DIV></p><p>I took a look at each of the programs that you mentioned.&nbsp; WorldWide Telescope is awesome.&nbsp;I'm running XP SP3 and it has no trouble running the program.</p> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>