TAG | free software
As the development of knowledge and civilization of human being, people are more and more eager for knowing the unexplored fields and an important way to observe the vast expanse of the universe is through astronomical telescope. However, if you are unable to purchase the expensive astronomical observation equipments, can you observe the astronomical phenomena? Yes! Try the 5 free softwares introduced below and you will find lots of the astronomical phenomena and objects can be simulated which are based on real data. Through them, you can feast your eyes without cost.
Google Earth is a virtual globe software developed by Google and was rated as one of the top 100 new products in the world in 2005 by PCWorld. It lays out the satellite photos, aerial photography and GIS on a 3D model and people can download the free client software to browse the satellite images with high definition from around the globe.
An interesting feature Google Sky was added to Google Earth to the 4.2 version and the later version. Google Sky is like a virtual astronomical telescope to let you roam among hundreds of millions of stars. It enables you to browse and observe with magnification one hundred million stars and two hundred million galaxies from the viewpoint of Earth. Besides, it can show through different layers the star evaluation history, asterism constellations, high definition photos taken by Hubble Space Telescope and galaxy guides. A local space layer let you click directly among stars, galaxies and nebulas that can be seen by naked eyes or small telescopes.
Carina Nebula taken by Hubble camera
Also there is web-based Google Sky so people can experience the pleasure of explore the universe by browser without downloading the software.
Celestia is a free open source software which can run on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. With it, you can not only look down Earth from above but also travel throughout the solar system, to any of over 100 thousand stars and even out of the galaxy. You can view the nebulas at a distance and also observe the aircrafts near with all movement seamless. There is a large catalog of stars, planets, satellites, comets and spacecraft in Celestia. What’s more, you can download and install extension databases conveniently if you want more.
To operate Celestia is simple and you can control it by shortcut keys:
[F8]: begin running
Keys 1-9: shortcut keys represent nine planets
Space key: suspend and revert
K and L: accelerate time and decelerate time
0: show the orbit
I believe you will find more wonderful features during using it.
Stellarium is also a free open source software and can run on Linux/Unix, Windows and Mac OS X. It uses OpenGL to render the starry sky in real time so the starry sky is the same as that you see by snaked eyes, telescope or astronomical telescope.
It will be of full screen automatically after starting and a vast starry sky is presented before our eyes. You can choose different planets such as the moon and the Mars as start points to observe the space
NASA World Wind is co-presented by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). It’s more authoritative and is totally free at present.
You can see any place on Earth from outer space through the 3D engine of this program. The highest resolution of World Wind can reach one pels standing for 15 meters by combining with online database, which means some big streets can be seen very clear. In addition, you can have a 3D flight around Earth to experience flying over Everest, hurricane sweeping Florida and the climate change situation.
StarStrider is not free but it provides a 30 day trial. It enables you to travel on different planets and look at the sky on outer planets.
Imagine the starry sky seen from Sirius, the solar system seen from Cassiopeia, or Taurus seen from its back. Isn’t these cool? StarStrider lets you do all of these cool things.
Like them? You can download them now and have a try, but before you do it remember to have a look at the system requirements specified on the product websites.
