What is the best software for seeing real images of the sky and exploring the cosmos? We already know that the NASA site and the ESA site allow access to the highest resolution images. For the moment, there is no free software that gives us a 3D view of space to better appreciate the distance of objects. And for good reason, no computer could simulate space and its millions of bodies. It would take a software that works like the graphics engines of GTA-like games with the representation of only what one observes in order to decrease computer resources.
For the moment, the best software is Google Sky. There is an online version but without the names of the constellations and stars. Or a version embedded in Google Earth but in patchworks mode. Just click on the button with the planet and select "Sky". The latter is perhaps more appropriate even if the result is not necessarily very beautiful. The search for name does not work alas, whatever the version. The displayed images are the latest known and optimal version. In the end it's perfect to put a name on the stars that we scan using the telescope.
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