Asynx Planetarium 2.61

Astronomy is probably one of the oldest hobbies known to mankind. After all, stars have always been out there. However, together with the advent of the Internet era, both professional and amateur astronomers constantly need more modern and better equipment. A Swiss program called Asynx Planetarium is a freeware celestial atlas intended for astronomy enthusiasts.

It is an independent, user-friendly and fully-equipped simulator of planetarium and the Solar System. Its basic function is displaying the night sky according to the user’s parameters (any location on Earth and any date between the years 1760 and 9999). The application enables the user to identify more than ten thousand stars, planets, Messier objects, all of the eighty-eight identified constellations and lunar phases. Additionally, the program can also display an animated sky as well as geocentric and heliocentric systems while previewing the Solar System. It constitutes a very useful tool both for young astronomers (as it is an easy to operate sky atlas), and teachers or parents who need scientific assistance in explaining to children some astronomic phenomena. The possibility of displaying night sky over any location on the globe also teaches the differences between the looks of night sky as well as orientation in world directions in the northern and southern hemisphere. 

Its interface is well-designed and conducive to using the program as a scientific resource. Another facilitation is the option of printing the systems and marking one’s own locations.