3D Astronomer

Click Image To Visit Site“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" Neil Armstrong July 21, 1969

A real-time, three-dimensional view of our solar system, the galaxy and the universe.



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Yeah – get into space – virtual, correctly-scaled outer space on your computer. With this software – 3DAstronomer™ – you can check out the other planets one by one – sitting at your computer (PC only, for now). You remember the old meme don’t you? The order of the planets from the Sun – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Ur , Neptune and good old Pluto – named after Mickey Mouse’s dog.

Actually we now know that Pluto isn’t really a planet. Its more of a dwarf planet and its made up of rock and ice smaller than our moon. So if you were thinking of going there for your holidays I’d cancel. Go to Saturn instead. That’s a happening place. Its got those beautiful rings for starters. And some great beaches I hear. Although it can be a bit windy this time of year – gusting to 1200 MPH. Jupiter is a better bet. Its the largest planet in the Solar System so it stands to reason it has more to see and do. Check out The Great Red Spot. I’ve heard that place really hots up after midnight. You can even see it from Earth – after the Moon and Venus it’s the third-brightest object in the night sky.

Hey you wanna go check out the giant space telescope Hubble – the collaboration between the European Space Agency and NASA. Talking about Hubble – have a look at what this Australian guy has done – gone and built a 1:1 laser-cut plywood copy of it. Why? It’s ART doncha know. Love this comment -

“The cool thing is that since the artist has the plans for this thing in Illustrator, it could be easily transformed into a papercraft project.”

Or you can use 3DAstronomer™ to see how the Ruskies are getting along with the Americans on the International Space Station (ISS) – the largest artificial satellite orbiting Earth. Well – it’s not only Russians but Europeans and Japanese collaborating as well. A Russian spaceship carrying three astronauts – a Russian, an American and a Ninja landed safely in Kazakhstan last week. Their sixmonths gig was up. But the trip back to Earth only took three and a half hours.

Wonder what they eat on that ISS space station? Yeah…space food but I wonder if they cater for special tastes? Like Sushi and caviar and all those cabbage dishes the Reds are so fond of. Speaking of which…you know what happens when you eat a lot of cabbage don’t you? In a confined space. Yeah…let’s not go there. Or if you really want to know – What Would Happen If You Farted in a Space Suit.

BTW you can see the ISS with the eye. Its the one with the Coca-Cola neon signage (kidding). But it must be pretty big huh? I know it’s expensive. Supposed to cost between 35 billion dollars to 160 billion dollars by the time it’s finished at the end of next year. And get this – the ISS is believed to be the most expensive object ever created. What monetary crisis eh?

So yeah – with this new astronomy software 3DAstronomer™ you could zoom right up close to the space stations and see what’s happening. See how the party is panning out.

Or with a few mouse clicks you can be looking at enormous galaxy clusters. There’s thousands of them. And some are like 400 Million light years away. But no worries – just turn your 3DAstronomer™ to Warp Speed and you can effectively go forward in time – light years away – to visit these outer galaxies. See what I mean about getting Lost in Space? What is out there anyway? If you come across something, can you report back?

Maybe you’ve got stars in your eyes, as it were. I don’t blame you. They are beautiful aren’t they? And fascinating. And there’s over 100,000 of them. Most are very old – between 1 billion and 10 billion years old. Holy cow! That’s old. Some stars may even be close to 13.7 billion years old— as old as the universe. Frankly – that freaks me out. I can’t wrap my head around that at all. Its like the poser Where does the universe start and finish? Who knows.

How do you tell the difference between a planet and a star in the night sky? I was always taught that stars le while planets emit… Read more…