Experience PlanetVRium, an interactive planetarium experience in Virtual Reality! PlanetVRium allows you to explore the stars, galaxies and nebulae visible in the night sky, and is a “must see” for all junior astronomers, young and old, or anyone with a curiosity and passion for the night sky.
Unlike other phone apps which show you constellations in the sky, PlanetVRium allows you to interact with the night sky, in VR. You can see all 8400 visible stars, in both the northern and southern hemispheres, all around you. You can rotate the night sky based on your latitude and time of year. See and explore all 88 constellations of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). You can point to and “shoot” any star to see detailed astronomical data for that star, including position (right ascension and declination), magnitude of brightness, distance in light years, and the name of the star where applicable.
In addition, PlanetVRium displays over 150 nebulae and galaxies, which are shown as pink and green dots in the sky, alongside their neighboring stars. Use this as a reference to learn where to aim your own telescope, in real life, to see the same night sky objects. And, just like the stars, you can “shoot” one of these dots, which will display beautiful color photos of each galaxy or nebula, as seen by the Hubble space telescope and other astronomers.
PlanetVRium is an educational and entertaining experience for all. Watch each of the “Visual Experiences” describing complex scientific concepts in easy-to-understand virtual reality displays before your eyes. Learn about the other planets in our solar system. See the vast distances between the stars in a scaled-down 3D visualization. And more!
Choose from several relaxing environments for enjoying the night sky – a peaceful meadow, floating on a raft, flying a small spaceship, and more. PlanetVRium can be enjoyed from either a standing or sitting position, and the sky is at your control. For example, rather than looking behind you, you can rotate the sky so that a particular constellation is in front of you.
The stars, constellations, and other objects in the night sky are modelled and displayed in mathematically correct location and relationship to each other. All data comes from reliable sources such as the Yale Bright Star Catalog (YBST), the Messier and Caldwell Catalogues of galaxies, clusters, and nebulae, and the IAU catalog of constellations. And developed with painstaking attention to detail to ensure a high-quality result.
We hope you enjoy PlanetVRium as much as we do, and we hope that it gives you a deeper appreciation of the beauty and wonder of the stars and the universe around us.
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