Browsable model of the galaxy/universe?

[Orange Smartie]

Hello all. The other day I was wondering if there's a 3D browsable model of the universe or of the Milky Way. I fancied knowing where we are in our galaxy and which way I'm looking when I'm observing things in the night sky. Anybody know of one?

[josefk]

It's possibly not exactly what you're looking for @Orange Smartie but in Sky Safari Pro you can view any list in "Galaxy View" and move around it and zoom into etc. A screenshot looks like this (for the Messier catalogue in this case fully zoomed out):

 

[josefk]

zoomed in on our back yard relatively speaking and with an object label showing...

The bigger the device display you use for SSP the more interesting this feature is. 

[Orange Smartie]

Thank you @josefk, that's brilliant. I thought I'd already replied to you but perhaps I deleted my reply. I use SkySafari loads, and the upgrade was only £3.59, so well worth it. I only use this app on my phone, so the display size is somewhat limited, but it's still good. Do you know if there's a way of making custom lists on a phone?

[josefk]

oh fab - i'm glad i wasn't barking up the wrong tree. You can make and import lists on any device you have the app running on - this is from my phone just now in 3 screenshots 1 step after the other...:

[josefk]

...then after making the list - toggle it to "highlight objects in the sky chart" then in the sky chart hit the "show list in galaxy view". Voila. 

 

 

[Orange Smartie]

Ah, so I think I don't have SkySafari Pro, just an upgraded free version. V7 is about £28, whereas V6 is £15. Which version are you using and do you have a reason to favour one over the other?

 

 

[josefk]

It looks like i have SkySafari 7 Pro and TBH its the only one i've used - i used Stallarium (free browser version) before that so can't compare SSP 6 and 7. I think SSP 6 does allow list creation etc but beyond that i think you may need a user on here to comment. I wholeheartedly recommend SSP7. It get's better and better for me the more i use it. 👍

 

[Orange Smartie]

Thank you again. That looks good; now to get used to using it.

[jjohnson3803]

😄  I've used SS for several years and just recently started playing with Galaxy View.  It's a great feature.

Edited October 3, 2022 by jjohnson3803

[Gfamily]

There is also the Our Galaxy view, which is available in a browser, as an app or as a download for laptops

Available here https://www.otherwise.com/download/

 

 

 

[Fegato]

Slightly left field, but I do like this http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com

Sky Safari is great. And for scrolling around our sky / milky way , I use Aladin a lot, for a photographic view of the sky. You can load different sky catalogues, CDS/P/DSS2/color being a good one. You can implement as an App on Windows or Mac - https://aladin.u-strasbg.fr

[Highburymark]

The ‘Exoplanet’ app is great for touring around the Milky Way, and with add-ons, out to our local groups of galaxies and beyond. It’s a lot more than just an exoplanet explorer.

[Greymouser]

I just feel the need to suggest this from Steam, which looks interesting. I have not bought it yet, but almost certainly will as it looks like it will be good, even though only early access. It does have great reviews.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/314650/SpaceEngine/

 

[Orange Smartie]

1 hour ago, Greymouser said:

I just feel the need to suggest this from Steam, which looks interesting. I have not bought it yet, but almost certainly will as it looks like it will be good, even though only early access. It does have great reviews.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/314650/SpaceEngine/

That looks interesting - would be good as an education tool, I think. I'd be interested to hear how you get on with it.

[dph1nm]

There is always Celestia

NigelM

[ONIKKINEN]

Universe sandbox on Steam may also be worth looking into. Its fun to experience, especially with VR goggles.