Planetarium software is

application software Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...

that allows a user to simulate the

celestial sphere In astronomy and navigation, the celestial sphere is an abstract sphere that has an arbitrarily large radius and is concentric to Earth. All objects in the sky can be conceived as being projected upon the inner surface of the celestial sphere, ...

at any time of day, especially at

night Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...

, on a computer. Such applications can be as rudimentary as displaying a

star chart A star chart is a celestial map of the night sky with astronomical objects laid out on a grid system. They are used to identify and locate constellations, stars, nebulae, galaxies, and planets. They have been used for human navigation since ...

sky map Sky Map is an Android planetarium software application. History Sky Map was designed and developed by a group of Google engineers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as part of their 20% time. It's now "donated and open-sourced". Licensing On ...

for a specific time and location, or as complex as rendering photorealistic views of the

sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In the field of astronomy, ...

. While some planetarium software is meant to be used exclusively on a personal computer, some applications can be used to interface with and control telescopes or

planetarium projector A planetarium projector, also known as a star projector, is a device used to project images of celestial objects onto the dome in a planetarium. Modern planetarium projectors were first designed and built by the Carl Zeiss Jena company in Germa ...

s. Optional features may include inserting the

orbital elements Orbital elements are the parameters required to uniquely identify a specific orbit. In celestial mechanics these elements are considered in two-body systems using a Kepler orbit. There are many different ways to mathematically describe the same ...

of comets and other newly discovered bodies for display.

Comparison of planetarium software

References

Educational software Entertainment software Astronomy software Planetarium technology {{software-stub

Comparison of planetarium software

See also

References