WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:03.000 Roy Gould: Less than a year from now, 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:06.000 the world is going to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy, 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:08.000 which marks the 400th anniversary 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:12.000 of Galileo's first glimpse of the night sky through a telescope. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:15.000 In a few months, the world is also going to celebrate 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:20.000 the launch of a new invention from Microsoft Research, 00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:23.000 which I think is going to have as profound an impact 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:27.000 on the way we view the universe as Galileo did four centuries ago. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:31.000 It's called the WorldWide Telescope, 00:00:31.000 --> 00:00:36.000 and I want to thank TED and Microsoft for allowing me to bring it to your attention. 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:39.000 And I want to urge you, when you get a chance, 00:00:39.000 --> 00:00:42.000 to give it a closer look at the TED Lab downstairs. NOTE Paragraph 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:47.000 The WorldWide Telescope takes the best images 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:54.000 from the world's greatest telescopes on Earth and in space, 00:00:54.000 --> 00:00:58.000 and has woven them seamlessly 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:03.000 to produce a holistic view of the universe. 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:08.000 It's going to change the way we do astronomy, 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:11.000 it's going to change the way we teach astronomy 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:13.000 and I think most importantly 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:16.000 it's going to change the way we see ourselves in the universe. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:17.000 --> 00:01:20.000 If we were having this TED meeting in our grandparents' day, 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:22.000 that might not be so big a claim. 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:26.000 In 1920, for example, you weren't allowed to drink; 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:29.000 if you were a woman, you weren't allowed to vote; 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:34.000 and if you looked up at the stars and the Milky Way on a summer night, 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:38.000 what you saw was thought to be the entire universe. 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:42.000 In fact, the head of Harvard's observatory back then 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:44.000 gave a great debate in which he argued 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:47.000 that the Milky Way Galaxy was the entire universe. NOTE Paragraph 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:49.000 Harvard was wrong, big time. (Laughter) 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:53.000 Of course, we know today that galaxies extend far beyond our own galaxy. 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:57.000 We can see all the way out to the edge of the observable universe, 00:01:57.000 --> 00:01:59.000 all the way back in time, 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:02.000 almost to the moment of the Big Bang itself. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:06.000 We can see across the entire spectrum of light, 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:09.000 revealing worlds that had previously been invisible. 00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:14.000 We see these magnificent star nurseries, 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:18.000 where nature has somehow arranged for just the right numbers 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:22.000 and just the right sizes of stars to be born for life to arise. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:26.000 We see alien worlds, we see alien solar systems -- 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:29.000 300 now, and still counting -- 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:31.000 and they're not like us. 00:02:33.000 --> 00:02:36.000 We see black holes at the heart of our galaxy, 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:39.000 in the Milky Way, and elsewhere in the universe, 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:42.000 where time itself seems to stand still. 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:48.000 But until now, our view of the universe has been disconnected and fragmented, 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:52.000 and I think that many of the marvelous stories that nature has to tell us 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:55.000 have fallen through the cracks. And that's changing. NOTE Paragraph 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:57.000 I want to just briefly mention three reasons 00:02:57.000 --> 00:03:01.000 why my colleagues and I, in astronomy and in education, 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.000 are so excited about the WorldWide Telescope 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:06.000 and why we think it's truly transformative. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:11.000 First, it enables you to experience the universe: 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:14.000 the WorldWide Telescope, for me, is a kind of magic carpet 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:18.000 that lets you navigate through the universe where you want to go. 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:25.000 Second: you can tour the universe with astronomers as your guides. 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:30.000 And I'm not talking here about just experts who are telling you what you're seeing, 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:36.000 but really people who are passionate about the various nooks and crannies of the universe, 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:38.000 who can share their enthusiasm 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:40.000 and can make the universe a welcoming place. 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:44.000 And third, you can create your own tours -- 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:47.000 you can share them with friends, you can create them with friends -- 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:49.000 and that's the part that I think I'm most excited about 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:53.000 because I think that at heart, we are all storytellers. 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:55.000 And in telling stories, 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:59.000 each of us is going to understand the universe in our own way. 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:02.000 We're going to have a personal universe. 00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:07.000 I think we're going to see a community of storytellers evolve and emerge. NOTE Paragraph 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:12.000 Before I introduce the person responsible for the WorldWide Telescope, 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:14.000 I just want to leave you with this brief thought: 00:04:14.000 --> 00:04:18.000 when I ask people, "How does the night sky make you feel?" 00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:22.000 they often say, "Oh, tiny. I feel tiny and insignificant." 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:25.000 Well, our gaze fills the universe. 00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:29.000 And thanks to the creators of the WorldWide Telescope, 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:34.000 we can now start to have a dialogue with the universe. 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:37.000 I think the WorldWide Telescope will convince you 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:42.000 that we may be tiny, but we are truly, wonderfully significant. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:44.000 Thank you. 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:49.000 (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:52.000 I can't tell you what a privilege it is 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:55.000 to introduce Curtis Wong from Microsoft. (Applause) NOTE Paragraph 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:58.000 Curtis Wong: Thank you, Roy. 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:04.000 So, what you're seeing here is a wonderful presentation, 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:06.000 but it's one of the tours. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:09.000 And actually this tour is one that was created earlier. 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:11.000 And the tours are all totally interactive, 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:13.000 so that if I were to go somewhere ... 00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:16.000 you may be watching a tour and you can pause anywhere along the way, 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:18.000 pull up other information -- 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:20.000 there are lots of Web and information sources 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:22.000 about places you might want to go -- 00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:25.000 you can zoom in, you can pull back out. 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:27.000 The whole resources are there available for you. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:34.000 So, Microsoft -- this is a project that -- WorldWide Telescope is dedicated to Jim Gray, 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:37.000 who's our colleague, and a lot of his work that he did 00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:40.000 is really what makes this project possible. 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:43.000 It's a labor of love for us and our small team, 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:47.000 and we really hope it will inspire kids to explore and learn about the universe. 00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:49.000 So basically, kids of all ages, like us. NOTE Paragraph 00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:52.000 And so WorldWide Telescope will be available this spring. 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:57.000 It'll be a free download -- thank you, Craig Mundie -- 00:05:57.000 --> 00:06:01.000 and it'll be available at the website WorldWideTelescope.org, 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:03.000 which is something new. 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:06.000 And so, what you've seen today 00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:10.000 is less than a fraction of one percent of what is in here, 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:12.000 and in the TED Lab, we have a tour 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:14.000 that was created by a six-year-old named Benjamin 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:16.000 that will knock your socks off. (Laughter) 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:19.000 So we'll see you there. Thank you. 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:23.000 (Applause)