Celestia is a free and open-source 3D space exploration software. Learn or teach astronomy by making interactive shows of the planetary systems and celestial bodies. Download Celestia for Windows now by clicking the download button on this page.
- The good
- Free and open-source.
- Image and video capture.
- Scripting capabilities.
- Easy mouse and keyboard support.
- The bad
- No black-holes or supernovas (some are available on the add-ons).
Celestia's Controls
Using and navigating inside Celestia is not difficult per se but due to the extensive ways the user can move around it takes some time to get used to it. Navigation is done using a combination of keyboard and mouse commands. These commands are listed in the getting started guide of the official website.
Another way to navigate is to load and execute a script. What's interesting with scripts is that the user can share them with others or load them in a presentation session. In Celestia Motherlode, many community-created scripts are available for free download.
Video and image capture
Another feature is the ability to capture images and videos, which is perfect for creators of scientific and technological content. To take a screenshot go to File => Capture Image.
For video capture go to File => Capture Movie then you will be instructed to configure video settings, after that the frame will appear on the software display then the user needs to click F11 start/pause the video recording and F12 to stop recording.
Celestia scripting
One of the best features of Celestia is the ability to program tours around the cosmos using a scripting language, scripts can be loaded to the software from File => Open script. To learn how to write scripts you can go through the guide on the offical website.
Celestia Features
- Free and open-source space exploration software.
- Realistic 3D models.
- Great controls using the Keyboard and Mouse.
- Add-ons to add features or new objects, you can check the list of add-ons from the official website.
- Display information about the objects on the display.
- Image and video capture ability.
- Scripting capabilities.
- A large set of 3D models for a variety of celestial objects.
- A lot of customizations.
- A tool to calculate eclipse and eclipse time.
Download the space exploration software, Celestia
Celestia is available on different operating systems such as Linux, Mac OS, AmigaOS 4 and Windows. To get the latest version of Celestia 1.6.1 for Windows with a direct and fast download button via Downzen click on the download button on this page.
To get the Celestia for other operating systems visit the download page on the official website.
Additional information
- Version1.6.1
- Last update2019-07-31
- Downloads628
- LicenseFree
- Size32.8MB
- RequiresWindows 98+
- CategoryPhotos and Images Software/ Maps and GPS