3D in Silverlight part 4: spherical image mapping

Spherical image mapping is a technique to wrap a 2D image around a 3D sphere. In my little ray tracer, I apply this technique to create an earth-like object.

Screenshot:

The same technique is used to wrap the image around a cube which gives an interesting effect.

Live version:

[It might take some time until this Silverlight application is loaded so please be patient. If you're viewing this post in an RSS reader (such as Google Reader), you might have to open it in your browser.]

Happy 2011!