*FREE* (awesome!) Planetarium Software

A year or two ago, I stumbled onto Stellarium.org software recommended in our Apologia Science Astronomy textbook and it is awesome! Since then, the Atwater family has been lovin' it!  Joshua (my oldest) studied and learned to love Astronomy a couple of years ago, and along with Stellarium.org , he has continued to be fascinated by anything to do with the stars and planets!

First, you'll download the software onto your computer (preferably a laptop).  To do that, just click on the type of system you have and begin the download.  After that, it doesn't even need internet access to work!  Then, when you open up Stellarium, you will be looking at the sky on your computer screen and it is very realistic!  First, you'll want to use a tool that lets you choose your location on our wonderful planet.  Then...it's so cool, you can walk outside (literally) and the sky you look up at will be the same as the sky on your laptop!  See a star and wonder which it is?  You can find in on your Stellarium sky and click on it to get it's name, distance, color, etc.

On your computer you'll be able to click once and add the names of all the stars, or show the latitude and longitude lines, and even identify all of the constellations (names and drawings).  You can also fast-forward in time and see where the moon will be on New Years or rewind time and see what stars were 'out' the day you were born.  It matches daylight and dark, you can look with a horizon, or remove the horizon and see the full display of space.  You can scroll around with your mouse and look North, South, East or West, or straight up above you!  The tools available have so much potential!  Can you tell that I love it?

So, whether you're a homeschooling mom like me (who's always on the lookout for free teaching tools) or just a star-gazer who would love to learn more about God's great creation...I highly recommend that you hop over to Stellarium.org and start downloading now!

While you're here, be sure to check out the other homeschool freebies I've posted!

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This post contains affiliate links - which means I might earn a few cents (or even dollars) if you click on them. However, ALL opinions and recommendations are my own and are not affected by the use of these links. I won't tell you I like something unless I really like it!