WinStars is a free multi-platform 3D planetarium that accurately represents celestial objects at a given moment. It also allows you to virtually travel through our solar system, the Milky Way, and the nearest galaxy clusters. Additionally, a dedicated news feed keeps you up-to-date with the latest discoveries in astrophysics, which can be visualized within the software. WinStars is a constantly evolving software, with new features regularly added to make it a tool dedicated to the exploration of our Universe.
It is recommended to consult the documentation available at this address: https://winstars.net/docs/en
Main features:
- Visualize the sky as it was 500 years ago or as it will be in 10,000 years! Discover the names of the main stars or locate constellations by moving your mobile. WinStars helps you identify the objects you point at.
- Looking for an object? Type its name and let the software guide you.
- WinStars gives you access to a vast database of information about each object.
- The software includes a massive database of billions of objects. Each object has a detailed card updated in real-time, including distances, right ascension, declination, azimuth, altitude, and magnitude.
- Track all satellites orbiting the Earth and predict the International Space Station (ISS)βs visibility times, for example.
- It accurately represents the position of the main satellites of Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, with zooming on the main planet.
- It also calculates the position of hundreds of thousands of additional objects in our solar system, such as comets and asteroids.
- Track planetary missions like Voyager 2, Pioneer 10, etc.
- Locate all known exoplanets.
- Indicate significant astronomical phenomena visible from your observation location.
- Plot the celestial equator, the ecliptic, and the azimuthal and equatorial coordinate grids.
- Represent the orbits of planets in 3D.
- A night mode enables watching the screen in the dark without being dazzled.
- Customisable landscapes.
- It offers easy installation of additional modules and automated software updates.
- The software is available in Bulgarian, English, French, German, Russian, and Spanish.
Other available features :
- Adding the Gaia EDR3 catalogue, containing 1.7 billion stars up to magnitude 22! (Internet connection required)
- Adding more than 100,000 galaxies, nebulae, clusters, pulsars, quasars, and other deep sky objects.
- Exploring the stars close to our Sun and leaving the Milky Way to visit other galaxies. Discover the large-scale structures of our Universe.
- 3D-rendered planetary surfaces with improved textures. Fly over mountains and lunar craters or walk on the surface of the Earth, Moon, or Mars! Please note that your device must be compatible with OpenGL 4.1 (or OpenGL ES 3.2 for mobiles).
- Displaying many comets and asteroids in their true shape.
- Displaying the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS) in various wavelengths.
- Unlocking better textures for landscape, sky background, etc. on Android & iOS.
- Offering more interplanetary missions.
Visit https://winstars.net/en for more information about the software.