With deep enough pockets, they can skip the economic and political risks of establishing their own space program and, for a relative pittance, flag down a parabolic taxi, book lodgings on a space station or secure cargo room for a satellite, experiment or instruments.

For free software, Celestia is extremely complete. It has a wealth of demos, online and offline user guides, a wiki, a forum and even a Wikipedia entry! It is just as well that all this help is available, however, because it is not a particularly easy program to use.

In theory, you navigate around the universe by using the mouse or the keyboard. Right-clicking on an object (such as a planet) will bring up various options, while in the tool bar you can perform more complex tasks, such as searching for Bayer designations, taking videos, tracking objects and configuring options. Although all that sounds pretty normal, it is not as easy as it seems. I found the controls to be jerky and non-intuitive, and despite spending a fair amount of time playing around with it, didn't manage to get it working as well as I suspect it can.

Briefly reading the manuals didn't help either, and I think that to get the most out of Celestia, you would have to put some serious research in. Astronomy fans and those with a burning interest in our galaxy will surely make the effort that is needed to really get the most out of Celestia. The program definitely encourages serious dedication and obviously has been created by a person - Chris Laurel - who loves what he does. Celestia is meticulously researched and put together, and there is a multitude of extra resources on the website. Celestia: a beautiful and fascinating program for those willing to make the effort.

By Anonymous One of the best and its free!!!!!!! This has got to be one of the very best astronomy programmes every not only does it do what it sa ys it does but its easy to understand and to operate but it is very educational to even the most first time user in the way everything is explained. Unlike many programmes it stays with you even while you make a few mistakes and puts you righ. I use this along with my telescope and it really helps you to get into the astro photography part of astronomy giving some stunning pictures as you go along. A programme worth having even if you are not into astronomy and just want to knoe what something is,!!!!! Reviewed on October 3, 2015 •.

Space frequently captures our imagination. It's vast, it's full of mystery, and there are lots of incredible constellations and sights scattered across the stars. Outlook for mac 2016 how to delete outbox items. Below, we've gathered a handful of apps and games based around exploration and observation of the stars.

We've even included some strategy games to let young astronauts try their hand at space colonization, which seems to be the future of the space program. For kids that are interested in simulations, make sure you check out our list, and for kids who are fans of science, check out the list.