New releases of both the Windows Client, and Web Client, versions of WorldWide Telescope are now available for download. Called the Aphelion beta, the new releases contain a range of new features.
The Windows Client has upgraded graphics for the popular Solar System view - including the Sun's halo, nighttime lighting on the Earth, and eclipse shadows on Jupiter from its four largest moons. The cosmos is now enabled by default, and a viewer can zoom out from the Solar System to view the Milky Way as a huge spiral galaxy, and zoom out further to view many of the galaxies in the known Universe.
For the professional astronomer there is support for reading and analyzing FITS images. Different algorithms can be applied to the intesity of the pixels in an image - such as Linear, Log, Power and Square Root. And the range of intensities, and Histogram Equalization, can also be applied.
For the educator there is now the ability to create interactive tours - such as tests of a student's knowledge. For example, an image of a planet or moon can be shown, with a multiple choice of possible answers. Depending on the text entry that the student clicks, the interactive tour will go to a different slide - perhaps a "Correct" and a "Wrong" slide. Alternatively a tour designer can add "Back" buttons to their slides, so a student can repeat one or more slides before proceeding.
The Web Client has been updated to match more closely the features of the Windows Client. It includes the support for FITS images. The advantage of the Web Client is that it can be configured and extended using the SDK, which is fully documented along with both code and data samples. The latest release requires Silverlight 3, though support is maintained for developers who have written scripts for Silverlight 2.
Enjoy!