Virtual Moon Atlas - no swiss cheese
Website - Freeware
reviewed by ClifNotes, Feb 2006
comments?
Notes from Clif
After installing the Virtual Moon Atlas (VMA), you can forget any fairy tales about Swiss cheese. VMA is a fun and easy way to learn the features of our moon. You can easily see what phase the moon is currently in, find special features, zoom in for a closer view, and more. Now when you go out at night with a telescope or binoculars, you will already know what to look for.
VMA comes in several sizes that allow you to choose how much detail and how many features you want. It runs on all Windows systems and all versions are free.
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This software is the result of a collaboration between Christian Legrand, a passioned lunar observer, co-author of the guide "Discover the Moon" published in English by Cambridge University Press and also published in French, German and Spanish, and Patrick Chevalley, author of the worlwide known freeware "Cartes du Ciel / Sky Charts".
The authors make this free for amateur astronomers, lunar observers and students who wish to practice selenography. They hope to promote Moon observation and knowledge because our satellite will become one of the next human spatial exploration steps.
Distant Suns - see the stars
Website - Freeware
reviewed by ClifNotes, Feb 2006
comments?
Notes
Distant Suns 6.0-Special Edition-Free Version is a great way to see the stars and the constellations just as if it was a clear, dark night at your desk. Distant Suns SE allows you to view the night sky as it currently appears outside your house, or any time in the past or future. You can choose which direction to look and whether you wish to see the outlines of the constellations displayed. Other features allow you to zoom in on some of the planets for a closer look, or hover above the earth for a look at our home.
There is also a free Distant Suns screensaver available at Download.com.
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Distant Suns is one of the premier desktop astronomy packages of all time. For both casual skywatchers to seasoned amateur astronomers, Distant Suns will take you from your home to the outer reaches of the Universe and back. Distant Suns is compatible with Windows 95,98, ME, NT, 2000, and XP.
Celestia - opening up the universe
Download - Freeware
reviewed by bluepwrdup, Feb 2006
comments?
Comments from bluepwrdup
Celestia 1.4.0
This free software simulates the Solar System's bodies in 3D on your Windows or Linux PC. The difference to quite a few other programs it does so in realtime. Meaning you can view all the planets, moons and spaceships moving along their paths, trace them, follow them, orbit them and even control them (time and contol). Information on the planets, moons and galaxy clusters can be brought up online by right clicking target and choose info. And you won't have to fight your way through vast multitude of one-eyed green aliens for that. Celestia was formerly known as Solar System Simulator. It was initially released in 1997 with the intention to create a rotating Earth display on a main stream PC. A continuing development and expansion has taken place. Version 1.0 was only aware of the major bodies, version 1.2 added a whole bunch of moons. Solar System v1.6 then added more ways of movement for the user's eye (camera) within Solar System's virtual universe and last but not least
