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The latest virtual tours and image collections are stunning.
 technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

T e c h n o f i l e
Virtual tours: The Hubble's magnificent photos, a panorama in the cockpit, the Sistine ceiling and more


Nov. 16, 2003


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2003, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2003, The Post-Standard

   When the Web was new, I loved to spend a few spare hours every weekend finding unusual sites. I realized how much I missed that sort of discovery a few weeks ago. To make up for it, I set out to find some interesting and maybe even exciting Web sites for all of us who wish we could travel each week to exotic places.
   Here are sites you won't want to miss:
   First, check out the Hubble space telescope tour of the heavens, from an Australian news syndicate. This is a Flash animation of objects the Hubble telescope photographed. If you've never seen most of the Hubble photos, you must see this animation. Even if you've seen many of them, this site's portrayal is a treat. The Flash animation played well on my OS X 10.3 Macintosh computer, and my Windows-using friends told me it showed well on their PCs, too.
   For the Hubble animation, go to: http://wires.news.com.au/special/mm/030811-hubble.htm.
   The Hubble images make me long for the good old days of Web animations, when designers were experimenting with virtual tours of museums and scenic places. Computers were slow and connections were even slower, so all we got were hints of how things might be if we could do it all faster.
   That day is here. The latest virtual tours and image collections are stunning.
   The one I raved about for hours the first time I saw it is the Vatican's tour of the Sistine Chapel. I got goose bumps, and you will, too. The Vatican's official Web site -- yes, there is such a thing, and it's very tastefully done -- has other virtual tours, also. Check out the Egyptian and Etruscan museum tours while you're there.
   Go to http://mv.vatican.va/3_EN/pages/MV_Visite.html for the English version of the Vatican's tour site.
   The British Broadcasting Corp. BBC has a virtual tour of the Concorde jetliner's cockpit. I never thought much about poking around where the pilots of the world's fastest (and most recently retired) jetliner sat, but the tour proved too fascinating to ignore. Mike Bannister, who's been flying Concordes for 26 years, speaks to you if you click on his image in the pilot's seat.
   Find it at http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/yourlondon/concorde/virtual_tours.shtml. Soggy weather in the land of the Brits must give them plenty of time to create virtual tours.
   The Tate Modern Museum offers an unusual "flying" tour at www.tate.org.uk/modern/explore/tatesite.html, although parts of the tour didn't seem to work when I visited last week. (I couldn't see individual works of art.)
   But the Tate scores big with a virtual tour that had no glitches. It's a panorama of a huge sculpture by Anish Kapoor. Don't feel embarrassed if you confuse the sculpture with the state of Kansas; it's BIG. You won't believe the size until you fly to London and see it for yourself -- or until you take the tour.
   For the Tate tour of the Anish Kapoor sculpture, go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/2314145.stm.
   The folks who design the Smithsonian Institution's Web site have a treat, too. It's a series of virtual tours of the gigantic museum, tailored for your connection speed. You can choose "high" or "low" from the initial page. (I picked the high-octane version.)
   The opening page has an odd site address: http://2k.si.edu. (Yes, the official American museum is an educational institution, so it has an "edu" address. The "si" makes sense, after all. But "2K"? I'd guess the museum's virtual tours were part of the millennial celebrations held during 2000.)
   Finally, most of us will never get a chance to go to China, but we can enjoy virtual tours at any time. Go to www.chinavista.com/travel/virtualtours.html for a list of free vistas.