Pune : Students from the city can now go on a virtual astronomy tour with Harvard astronomer Alyssa Goodman that shows how dust in the Milky Way Galaxy condenses into stars and planets. The entire universe can now be viewed on a computer screen, which can work as a virtual telescope with the help of the world wide telescope (WWT). Most importantly, a user can take the tour in own language.

The Inter-university centre for astronomy and astrophysics (IUCAA), along with Microsoft Research, is hosting a workshop on the WWT in the city on September 4 which will introduce astronomy enthusiasts to WWT and its usage.

Arvind Paranjpye, scientific officer, public outreach programme, IUCAA, said, "When astronomers look at the sky through a telescope, some images are taken, for instance, to study a planet. However, this frame may contain various other things besides the planet. For the scientists, the planet could be important, but for others, there could be things besides the planet in the frame that are important. In the WWT, many such images have been stored in such a manner that users can extract extra information from them." The WWT is designed in such a way that it will enhance the users' experience in astronomical research, science education, entertainment and beyond.

Paranjpye said that the WWT allows users to see the sky at different wavelengths including x-ray, gamma ray, radio telescope among others. He said, "The WWT is definitely useful for researchers and scientists but the plus point is that the virtual telescope has a lot more for students and amateurs. For Indians, it is available in all possible languages including Marathi. Most importantly, it is free and all that a user needs to use it is internet access."

Paranjpye added, "Users can also choose from a number of guided tours created by astronomers and educators from famous observatories and planetariums." For example, users can accompany University of Chicago cosmologist Mike Gladders on a journey into cosmic history. Users can pause a tour at any time and explore on their own and later re-enter the tour where they had left off.