I’m delighted to announce that Astronomy magazine is now in partnership with a longtime leader in digital planetarium software, Distant Suns. Originally released for the Commodore Amiga in 1987, Distant Suns has grown to become a dominant player in the computer astronomy software world, having long been available as astronomy software and as an app on nearly every computer platform and operating system.

The brainchild of Silicon Valley astronomer and programming genius Mike Smithwick,  Distant Suns is one of the longest lived, continuously operating computer software titles on the market, bested only by products like Windows, Microsoft Word, and Broderbund’s Print Shop.

Distant Suns will now feature content from Astronomy magazine and Astronomy.com.

The current version of the Distant Suns app, as you’ll see, is very exciting, and an indispensible aid to viewing the night sky. The product has also partnered with the SETI Institute to offer a real-time display showing where astronomers are searching for extraterrestrial signals. The product is also partnered with NASA’s Night Sky Network and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific to include local, U.S. listings of astronomical events and activities in the app version.

Current features of Distant Suns include:
    • No Internet required, just a sense of wonder
    • More than 300,000 planets, stars, star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies
    • View the stars from Earth or out in the solar system
    • Augmented Reality Viewing overlays the sky with a local landscape (iOS only)
    • Current stars and solar systems being monitored by the SETI Allen Telescope Array as it listens for possible extraterrestrial civilizations (iOS only)
    • What’s Up? offers an overview of the evening sky
    • GPS and Compass aware
    • NASA’s Night Sky Network of local astronomical events (US iOS only)
    • Interactive tour of the solar system
    • And more

For more information on the current product line and supported systems, see http://www.distantsuns.com/products/.

Astronomy magazine is very proud to announce this unique partnership, and I know you will enjoy many hours under the stars with Distant Suns.