Stellarium: coolest app in the solar system

I always wondered how I could find out what stars and planets were in the sky on any particular night. And now I’ve found Stellarium, a free application that shows you that very thing.

You can specify where you are and the date and time, and it’ll render the night sky in glorious Star-O-Vision.

Click for a larger image.
But there’s more. You can zoom in on objects, like planets or nebulae. Try speeding up time and watch Jupiter rotate.

Or you can go to other places and see what the sky looks like from there. Here’s how Saturn looks right now, if you’re standing on Mimas, one of its moons.

Here’s a fun one: try going back in time to the day you were born, and find out what sign the sun came up in. You may be surprised. (Bill Nye explains.)

Youngest Boy and I now spend part of our night sitting on the kerb with the laptop, looking for constellations.