On February 27th at the Ted Conference Microsoft will be making an interesting announcement regarding software that’s been under development called “WorldWide Telescope”.

WorldWide Telescope is an application that Microsoft will provide as a download. After the application is downloaded and installed it will access a service that is much like Google Sky with a more sophisticated user interface. Using this application you’ll be able to explore the nighttime sky looking for areas that interest you, the interface will allow you to zoom, pan, change views, etc. The Hubble telescope and others around the world will supply the service its data (said to be terabits in size).

The software will be running on the Photosynth technology which allows for the construction of a 3d environment through the use of a large collection of similar photos.

Expect to hear more about this as the TED conference approaches.