Exploration: the next best thing to traveling around the globe and to the final frontier, space.
Today there is more to learn about our planet, the solar system, and the universe, and ourselves. These programs can be mind boggling simply from a visual point of view. If you use them enough, what they reveal is stunning. Buckle up and explore new frontiers.
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Google Earth: GIS for the masses, Google Earth reveals information about nearly anything in which you're interested if it is somewhere.
- Stellarium: Have you ever wondered what that star is in the southern sky at dawn? Ok, so your not awake at dawn. How about that star above the horizon at dusk? Stellarium is a free, open source planetarium for your computer. It shows a realistic sky in 3D, just like what you see with the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope. It is being used in planetarium projectors. Just set your coordinates and go. Find a planet and zoom in to see the details. Identify all the constellations. This is a sweet little program.
- World Wind: Explore the entire planet in 3D by zooming in from space. NASA produces this program for educational purposes. The lastest version was released in October 2005 and is a pretty large download at about 55MB but what an amazing tool. With version 1.3.3.1 you can now explore the Moon. As you zoom in, it downloads higher resolution satellite and aerial photography.
- Celestia: Explore the solar system and beyond. Beam me up, Scottie!
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