Mars in the spotlight of Microsoft's Worldwide Telescope

OK, this is great. It’s an updated version of Microsoft’s WorldWide Telescope, and it’s all about Mars. Microsoft spent three years developing this new version of the application, with its engineers put together after studying super high-resolution Nasa photos. The result is, much like Google Earth, you can zoom around the Red Planet, taking in the sights and sounds right from your computer.

There’s a desktop client (Windows-only) and a Web client—the Web client seems just as capable as the full desktop client, so no worries there.

It’s pretty easy to use, as you might imagine. With a few clicks you’re hovering right over Olympus Mons, the tallest known mountain (well, it’s technically a volcano) in the Solar System.

If I’ve helped take up two minutes of your day then I’ve accomplished what I set out to accomplish. Plus, you may learn a thing or two.

And how weird is it that the same company that can produce something so iffy as Office 2087 can also produce this?