The Hayden Planetarium Digital Atlas of the Universe

[Edi]

The Writers' Guild doesn't see that much activity and I figured there would be general interest for something I found purely by accident:

The Hayden Planetarium Digital Atlas of the Universe is a free electronic map of the universe you can download and even modify yourself. It's open source. Allows you to zoom around the galaxy in 3D to see what's what and where it's at and view things in various ways. It also has a separate program for viewing intergalactic space and zooming around the universe.

It's easy to get lost in this, so turning on the various grids and in the milkyway viewer using the Oort cloud grid and the nearstars tab makes it easier to find your way home. In any case, I've barely scratched the surface of this thing and it's enough to mesmerize me for hours on end. It also allows setting time and starting the clock so you can see how the stars move and the galaxy configuration changes if you like. No installation required, just unzip the file and run the bat files.

Word for the prudent: The PDF manual really helps get the hang of this thing. If you happen to stray too far away and can't find your way back to familiar environs, close the window and restart the bat and it will reset to the initial position. And anyone who claims they won't ever get lost with this is talking out of his arse. We live in a very fucking BIG universe as you will see...

[Ohma]

Another good one (though I don't know how modifiable it is) Celestia.

[Bounty]

It looks like a more practical version of Celestia. Does it have an option to print maps?

[Edi]

I have not had the opportunity to study it that far. The manual itself is a pretty damned hefty thing to read.

[Zixinus]

It certainly is nifty by the looks of it.

Now, if there were only a random planet generator....

[Jadeite]

It certainly is nifty by the looks of it.

Now, if there were only a random planet generator....

There is, Astrosynthesis IIRC.