Our Galaxy
A Three Dimensional Galactic Atlas
By Otherwise
Our Galaxy — A Three Dimensional Galactic Atlas!
The new Our Galaxy 2.0 has been rolled out as a free app on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Windows 10, Android, Linux and running in your web browser. Visit our Download Page to get the appropriate version.
Our Galaxy is a unique app that helps you understand the structural components of the Galaxy and visualize the locations and physical properties of deep sky objects in and around it.
At home, you will find yourself frequently referencing Our Galaxy after reading about an object and becoming curious where it is with respect to the Galaxy. Under the night sky, the app will enhance your observing experience by allowing you to get an intuitive sense of the physical location, size, luminosity, and distance of the object you are viewing. Our Galaxy a great educational and outreach tool as well.
Galaxy View
Using a full 3-D interface, the Galaxy View shows you where that cluster or nebula is actually located relative to the center and plane of the Galaxy, providing a unique perspective. Not a static view, it allows you to pan around or fly nearer or farther to get a sense of the objects and where they are.
Sky View
Using a star map plotted in galactic coordinates, the Sky View shows you where the objects you have shown in Galaxy View are found in the night sky. The use of galactic coordinates, rather than the more common alt/az or equatorial coordinates, helps you really understand the relationship between what you see in the night sky and an object's galactic location.
Built-In Views
Our Galaxy comes with a number of Built-In Views showing important aspects of our Galaxy. You can easily show things like All Messier Object, OB Associations, Bright Planetary Nebulae, and the structural components of the galaxy such as the Thin Disk. Each built-in view has a short description of the view and why it is interesting. A great educational tool.
You can create your own Custom Views for later reference or for sharing with others. Your created views may contain your specific notes describing the view.
Objects can be searched for and easily added or removed from the view. You can search either by name or by various criteria (e.g. object class, magnitude, distance, coordinates, or constellation)
When an object is selected, you can show its various apparent and physical properties in the Info panel. You can even initiate a web search of the object for additional information all within the app.
We think you'll find Our Galaxy literally adds another dimension to your night sky observing. Enjoy exploring this new perspective!