Celestia Forums

The only other 3D star map I've had experience with is the ancient Mac shareware program called "Orion".

But this, wow. This really is stunning.

For someone who lives just across the Hudson river from NYC, an area where "light pollution" takes on a WHOLE new meaning, this is just amazing.

I'd still rather have a fifty foot telescope and a place I could acctually use it , but (sigh), Santa is fresh out of them.

THANKS, massive giddy dancing around the room sincere thanks to all those who made this possible.

MONSTERS

"But they forgot one thing. Monsters John! Monsters from the Id!"

One thing that really stood out for me, using this 3d format, was just how much the constellations change in appearance after traveling just a few light years outward! Viewing the constellations from the location of Sirius, Vega, or any rather close stars makes a drastic change in the constellation patterns.......more than I would have thought! One of my favorites, Scorpius, loses shape rapidly. Something you just don't really think of from our fixed point of view, regardless of telescopes or star charts. This 3d program has really expanded my perception of what we normaly only see from here on Earth!