A blogger at New Scientist magazine highlights two interesting uses of Second Life related to astronomy.
Students in the course “Life in the Universe” at the University of Arizona have created a “Timeline of Earth Exhibit” that features a spiral display of earth’s geological time. Anthony Crider, a faculty member from nearby Elon University, has developed a planetarium in Second Life as part of an astronomy class. Students in the class use it to give presentations to fellow Second Life users.
Crider also developed an observatory in Second Life that students can use for practice before using real telescopes at the school. Students don’t have anything in particular to observe, however – Second Life doesn’t have a realistic night sky.
blog post at New Scientist