http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Welcome to WorldWide Telescope! You
can use WWT to explore many different
parts of our Universe, from our Solar
System to nearby stars to distant
galaxies.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Practice moving with the mouse.
To Pan: Left-click and drag cursor
across the screen in any
direction.
To Zoom: Roll mouse wheel forward
and backward.
Got it?
Click here to
continue.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Our Solar System
Constellations
Our Milky Way
Galaxies beyond ours
Earth
The surface of Mars
Stellar Birth
Stellar Death
What would you like to explore?
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Hover your mouse at the bottom of the
screen.
Click on the image thumbnails that
appear to visit an object of interest.
Click here to
return to the
selection menu.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Let's go visit a well-known constellation that can be
viewed year-round from most places in the US.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Let's go visit a well-known constellation that can be
viewed year-round from most places in the US.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Look carefully for a saucepan shape...
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
See the pot..
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See the pot..
And the handle?
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This is the Big Dipper!
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The Big Dipper is a group of stars
in the larger constellation,
"Ursa Major," or the "Great Bear.
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The Big Dipper can help you find "Polaris,"
also known as "The North Star."
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
The Big Dipper can help you find "Polaris,"
also known as "The North Star."
Follow an imaginary line connecting these
two stars in the pan of the Big Dipper.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
The Big Dipper can help you find "Polaris,"
also known as "The North Star."
Follow an imaginary line connecting these
two stars in the pan of the Big Dipper.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
The Big Dipper can help you find "Polaris,"
also known as "The North Star."
Follow an imaginary line connecting these
two stars in the pan of the Big Dipper.
The next bright star
you'll see along
this path is "Polaris!"
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Polaris always points North!
Polaris
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Polaris always points North!
If you walk toward the direction of
Polaris in the sky, you'll be heading
North.
Polaris
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Polaris always points North!
If you're standing on the North Pole of
Earth, Polaris will always be right above
your head.
Polaris
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Polaris is NOT the brightest star.
Polaris
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Polaris is NOT the brightest star.
In the Big Dipper alone, there are three
stars that are brighter than Polaris.
Polaris
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
The brightest star in the sky
(besides our Sun) is in..
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Canis Major
The brightest star in the sky
(besides our Sun) is in..
the constellation "Canis Major,"
or "Great Dog."
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
The brightest star in the sky
(besides our Sun) is in..
the constellation "Canis Major,"
or "Great Dog."
Canis Major
Sirius
It's called "Sirius."
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
The brightest star in the sky
(besides our Sun) is in..
the constellation "Canis Major,"
or "Great Dog."
Canis Major
Sirius
(Get now why Harry Potter's
Sirius Black transforms into a
huge dog?)
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Canis Major is the faithful dog of
the hunter, Orion, following him
around in the sky.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Canis Major is the faithful dog of
the hunter, Orion, following him
around in the sky.
Canis Major
Orion
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Canis Major is the faithful dog of
the hunter, Orion, following him
around in the sky.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Canis Major is the faithful dog of
the hunter, Orion, following him
around in the sky.
Orion
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Did you know?
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Did you know?
The stars in a constellation can be
at very different distances from Earth.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Did you know?
The stars in a constellation can be
at very different distances from Earth.
Let's travel to a star in Orion's Belt
to see what we mean.
Alnitak
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Let's travel to a star in Orion's Belt
to see what we mean.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
This is Alnitak.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Let's zoom out a bit, to remind ourselves what
Orion looks like from our part of the galaxy.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
You are centered on Alnitak, a star in Orion's belt.
Zoom in and out, and pan around to see what Orion
could look like from a different part of our Galaxy.
Click here to
return to the
selection menu.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
This is the best map astronomers have made of our Milky Way Galaxy.
You are here.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
This is the best map astronomers have made of our Milky Way Galaxy.
You are here.
(The yellow spot indicates where our
Solar System and nearby stars live.)
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
This is the best map astronomers have made of our Milky Way Galaxy.
You are here.
(The yellow spot indicates where our
Solar System and nearby stars live.)
Our location is not terribly special, and
does NOT look like a yellow dot in real life!
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
This is the best map astronomers have made of our Milky Way Galaxy.
You are here.
We are located ~27,000
light years from the
center of the Milky Way
(The yellow spot indicates where our
Solar System and nearby stars live.)
Our location is not terribly special, and
does NOT look like a yellow dot in real life!
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
Pan around and zoom and explore.
Click here to
return to the
selection menu.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
This is a 3-D map of the "cosmos" out to about
1.3 billion light years.
Each "dot" represents an entire galaxy!
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=SolarSystem
This is the "Coma Cluster," a group of over 1000 galaxies
held together by gravity.
Pan and Zoom around to explore.
Click here to
return to the
selection menu.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=earthhybrid
Zoom in and explore our own Earth.
Try finding the Grand Canyon, in
Northern Arizona.
Try finding Mount Everest!
Click here to
return to the
selection menu.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=manyrovers
This is a panorama taken from the surface of Mars
by the Pathfinder Mission, which landed on Mars in 1997.
The Sojourner Rover appears many times because this
image was created by stitching multiple snapshots together;
there is only ONE Sojourner!
Pan, zoom and explore!
Click here to
return to the
selection menu.
The constellation Orion.
The
Great
Orion
Nebula
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=1154245897
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=1556539595
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=1556539595
The Great Orion Nebula is a nearby cloud of dust and gas
where new stars are being born.
This little blob is called a "proplyd."
Gravity has pulled the gas and dust
together here and is creating a new
star and solar system.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=1556539595
Zoom back out to see how tiny this proplyd is compared
to the nebula it lives in, and how tiny that is compared
to the constellation Orion.
Click here to
return to the
selection menu.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=912623430
The Crab Nebula shows the remains of a very large star that
blew up, a "supernova."
Chinese astronomers in the year 1054 observed the brightening
of the star due to the explosion and made a record of it.
http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/wwtweb/thumbnail.aspx?name=912623430
Hover your mouse at the bottom of the screen.
Click on the thumbnail images that appear to see what the Crab
Nebula looks like at different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Click here to
return to the
selection menu.
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