Solar Explorer 3D vs Ishigaki Star Guide

Embark on an immersive journey through the solar system! Solar Explorer brings the solar system to life with a stunning 3D simulation based on real astronomical data, featuring 60+ celestial bodies and spacecraft. Experience the grandeur and mysteries of the universe in the palm of your hand. Key Features • Realistic Simulation – Explore the orbits of celestial bodies and spacecraft, along with the rotation of planets and moons, in an immersive 3D simulation. • Close-Up View – Observe surfaces and rotation up close, follow moons around their parent planets, and examine detailed 3D spacecraft models. • Size Comparison – Compare the Sun, planets, dwarf planets, and major moons side by side at true scale to appreciate the differences in size between celestial bodies. • Landing View – View a realistic starry sky and the Milky Way from selected surface locations on different celestial bodies. • Time Acceleration – Speed up time or run it backward to explore how celestial bodies and spacecraft move. • Mission Replay – Replay selected space missions with trajectory overviews and close-ups of key events. • Surface Features – Zoom in to discover surface features and place names on the Moon, Mars, and other celestial bodies. Professional-Grade Experience • Planet, moon, and spacecraft positions are calculated using astronomical data and celestial mechanics, with information panel data updated to match the simulation time. • Inspect high-resolution surface textures up close and discover the varied landscapes of planets and moons. • Examine detailed 3D spacecraft models, including all five probes that have traveled beyond Neptune’s orbit, and track their speed and distance from Earth as simulation time changes. • Discover historic landing sites on the Moon, Mars, Venus, and other worlds, with details about landers and surface features. • Landing view uses celestial mechanics and viewing geometry to recreate the local sky and celestial motion, reflecting effects such as the Moon’s tidal locking and Venus’s retrograde rotation. • The Earth-Moon view extends to the Sun-Earth Lagrange points L1 and L2, with orbital paths for space telescopes such as JWST, Roman, and Euclid. • Enjoy detailed planetary rings, the Sun’s corona and glow, and sweeping views of the asteroid belt and Kuiper belt, along with shadows and transits. Intuitive Controls • Tap a celestial body or its name label to enter close-up view, or browse celestial bodies and spacecraft in the catalog. • Drag with one finger to rotate the view, and pinch with two fingers to zoom. • In close-up view, use the location picker to choose a target landing site. On Earth, you can also use your current location. • Adjust the speed and direction of time in orbit view, close-up view, and landing view to observe rotation and orbital motion. Whether you’re an astronomy enthusiast, an educator, or a curious explorer, Solar Explorer opens a gateway to the mysteries of the universe. Download now and begin your space adventure!

Hold your phone up to the night sky and the stars in front of you appear on screen, named. A star guide built for one sky: Ishigaki Island, Okinawa. Ishigaki sits at 24.6 degrees north. From here the Southern Cross clears the horizon from winter dawns to spring evenings, a sight never seen from mainland Japan. POINT AND FIND AR mode draws constellation lines and star names over the live camera view, so the screen matches the sky above you; with the camera off it works as a plain chart. Only the constellation at the centre of your view lights up, the others fade back. 5,070 stars down to magnitude 6.0, the naked-eye limit, with lines for all 88 constellations. THE SOUTHERN CROSS, WITH TIMES Search for the Southern Cross: if it is up, an arrow at the edge of the screen guides you as you turn towards it; if not, the time machine jumps to the next time it will be. Check tonight's sky before you go outside. STAR NAMES FROM THE YAEYAMA ISLANDS Antares is Beecha-bushi. The Pleiades are Muri-ga-bushi. Polaris is Ninufa-bushi. The Milky Way is Tingara. Tap a star to see the Yaeyama name beside the modern one, with the story attached. Search "Haimuru-bushi" and the Southern Cross comes up. FIND THE CONSTELLATIONS AND COLLECT THEM Follow the arrow until the constellation is in front of you, hold it there, and tap "Found it" to record it in your book. A guide character then talks about that constellation and suggests a nearby one you have not found yet, arrow ready. Eighty-one constellations are reachable from Ishigaki; the ones that barely clear the horizon, like the Southern Cross at 8 degrees, rank as legendary. Records only count at night at the real current time, so the book holds only what you actually looked at. GUIDED PROGRAMMES, SPOKEN Like a planetarium show, a guided programme walks you through the sky one constellation at a time. "Yaeyama Winter Sky: An Introduction" is free: on nights from December to February it takes you from Orion to the Pleiades, the Winter Triangle and Canopus low over the sea, narrated in the unhurried voice of an island elder, so you can keep looking up. Every description card can also be read aloud. More themed programmes will follow. WILL IT BE CLEAR TONIGHT? - Sky Score: cloud, moonlight, humidity, visibility, rain and pressure scored out of 100, with the best hour highlighted (needs a connection) - Tonight's Highlights: end of twilight, moonrise and moonset, the moonless dark window, the Southern Cross transit, active showers - Moon Calendar: a month of phases at a glance FINDING DARK SKY Thirty observing spots around Ishigaki and the Yaeyama Islands, each with a Bortle darkness rating and distance from you, with town lights drawn on the map. Tap one for directions. ALSO INCLUDED - Time machine: step by second to year, or play time forward and watch the sky turn - Deep sky: 19 objects including Omega Centauri, Andromeda and the Orion Nebula - A Milky Way drawn from measured isophote data, Sagittarius bulge and Great Rift included - Meteors from the active shower's radiant at a realistic rate - Sound effects and a gentle haptic tap when you find a constellation - Five languages: Japanese, English, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Korean MADE BY A STARGAZING GUIDE OF TEN YEARS Hoshihaku, Inc. has run the Nagareboshi-no-oka stargazing tour on Ishigaki for ten years and guided over 60,000 visitors. The explanations are the answers we give guests in the field. PRIVACY - No account, no sign-up, no name or email to enter anywhere - No advertising, no analytics, no tracking - Settings and your collection stay on your device - Coordinates are sent only to fetch the weather forecast, and are not stored - The camera draws the AR background only; nothing is photographed, saved or sent - The microphone is never used Everything but the weather-based Sky Score works offline, guided programmes included. Bearings come from the magnetometer, which reads inaccurately inside a vehicle or near steel.